May the Heaven guard us
by Kitty.Loves.Babybear
Summary: With Tartaros defeated, Fairy Tail was left to cope with their inner demons. But no one expected that Lucy will changes the most. Burdened with a legacy, she has to protect the world, while she is learning that light cannot be without shadows. (Set after Tartaros Arc) LaxLu
1. Prologue

**Hey Guys! I'm back to writing, and this time in english! So please, if I make mistakes message me. This is my first Fairy Tail fanfic, I hope you like it. It's a multi-chapter story, and to my own surprise it will be a LaxLu. Normally I'm a Nalu shipper, but recently this pairing started to grew on me.**

 **I hope you all enjoy it!**

 **I do not own the characters or the story of Fairy Tail. It all belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

Alone. Once again she was alone.

After the Guild disbanned, everyone left, to go on with their lifes and their inner demons.

After the hell she went through, and in which she lost a dear friend, she thought her family would be there to help her. But no one was there anymore.

And even her best friend was gone, with a short letter, which barely explained his departure.

With tears, which continuesly fall from her eyes, Lucy ran down the streets of the demolished Magnolia.

She couldn't believe he just left her. In her own denial, she tried to find him, and a proof that he was still there. But his home was empty, and again she ran.

She had no destination, no idea where he went, but her desperate mind tried to find him anyway.

After she past the border of the town, and entered the forest, her vision became a blur.

After thirty minutes she completley lost her orientation, and came finally to a stop.

While she was breathing heavy, Lucy looked around her, only to confirm that again she was alone and utterly lost. All she could see was the never ending green and brown of the thousand of trees, which sorrounded her. She could'nt even see from where she came.

Her heart and her entire body ached, from exhaustion as well as emotional pain. She broke down and lay on her stomach while she heavily sobbed.

Mud and sticks decorated her hair and clothes, but she couldn't care less. Her brain was running wild with her desperate thoughts.

This is the end? After all they've been through together? She thought they were her friends, her nakama, her FAMILY. But all of them just agreed to the Disbannding and left, as if there were merley friends. She felt angry, but above all, she felt left behind. Even her best friend, didn't said Goodbye to her in person. Just a letter. Was their friendship not worth a little hug and a farewell? After this thought she even felt betrayed.

All her emotions hit her at once and she could literally feel the crack, which parted her soul.

And suddenly she felt numb, all the pain, saddnes and anger was gone, but she couldn't feel relief, because she felt nothing at all.

* * *

There on the ground, in the middle of the forest, she still lay, when the night falls.

Lucy was numb. She was like a zombie. Just layin ther with no movement completley still.

No thoughts at all, were running through her head, and she had no intention to get up at all.

For what? She had no longer a home or a family she could return to. No one was waiting for her. Not even a path for her life. No goals, no future.

Suddenly she heard rushling from the trees, to her left, and with a force, which let the trees crack and fall to the ground, a monster was heading towards her.

It was two meters tall, with dark blue fur which covered him fully, and two big horns on his head. It had the face of a wolf with razor sharp teeth, which glowed dangerously in the moonlight.

Lucy merely looked his way, but had no itention to get up.

Should she run away? But she felt no fear.

Should she fight it? But she felt no courage.

The moster saw her, and the murderous glint in those blood red eyes told her it would attack her. But still, she couldn't move.

The monster stand right before her lying figure, and hold up his arm, only to let it crash down on her.

But right before the large palm, with the sharp claws, could rip her body apart, a flash of golden light illuminated the scene and the monster was pushed back.

After the light deceased she could see a figure standing before her protectivley. Out of pure instinct she thought of her best friend, and Dragon Slayer, but a second later she noticed that the hair of her savior was wrong. It was not her favorite shading of pink, but an deep and dark blue.

"Are you alright?" asked the former criminal, as he confirmed the monster fled the scene, and it was safe to turn to her. She saw the suprise on his face the widening of the eyes, which was surrounded by an tatoo.

"Lucy?" he asked the second question, but Lucy didn't answer. She just lay there, absolutley still, besides her calm breathing.

"Is she ok?" a female voice asked, and Meredy walked right next to him, with a courious, and slightly nervous expression.

"I don't know, she is not responsive, but I think she sees us." Jellal anwered her in his typical calm voice.

Meredy lowered herself on her knees, and shoke her by the arm.

"Lucy? Lucy, talk to us! What happened?" she tried, but the result was still the same.

"Something is definitely wrong here. But the monster didn't even touched her." Jellal wonders, and his mind was working for an answer.

Meredy slowly hold her hand above her chest, and her hand began to glow an beautiful pink. But suddenly she gasped and clutched her hand to her chest.

"Jellal, she... she got no emotions or senses in her!" Meredy panicly said.

"What? That's impossible, how could someone not have senses?" He asked slightly shocked to the discovery.

"I only saw that once, when I was back with Grimore Heart. We found a women, who carried a boy out of a destroyed town. Due to the tragic he witnessed and the loss of his whole family his soul shattered. And he acted exactly like Lucy right now." Meredy told, with an look in her eyes, which looked like she relived this moment in her mind.

"Her soul shattered?" He asked and Meredy nodded.

"And from what i know, she only have a week, before she dies, due to the magic lost of her body." Meredy explained with a saddened face, tears began to appear in her eyes.

"That's more than bad. Do you know how to fix her soul?" he asked, also bitterly, after this outcome,

"The boy couldn't be safed, and I never whitnessed it again, so no. I don't know how." She spoke silently.

Both looked down at the fragile looking girl, which lay on the ground lifeless.

Out of the blue, a gold flash appeared.

"I know how to save her." Loke said, as he appeared through his gate. He picked Lucy up, and hold her carefully.

"But i need your help." he told them, with a serious expression.

"Then let's go." Jellal spoke and nodded to the celestial spirit.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Please leave a review, I will be happy about critic, ideas or opinions!**

 **And again, english is not my native language, so spare the grammatical errors, until someone point them out, and I can correct them.**

 **Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello again! So this is the "real" first chapter of this story. I got a few reviews and all I can say is: THANK YOU!**

 **I was so nervous about posting the story, so every review, favorite and follow was like a cookie for me!:D I can't even say how grateful I am!**

 **Now I stop talking, and let you continue with the story.**

 **Disclaimer: Fairy Tail doesn't belong to me. Hiro Mashima is the rightful owner.**

* * *

 _One and a half year later._

"That was my fish, Happy!" a loud and angry voice growled at a blue flying cat in the middle of a small town.

"No! We agreed that you get all the meat, while I get all the fish!" The Exceed claimed, and the people around them stopped to see where the ruckus came from. Some laughed, while other glared at them.

Natsu the Fire Dragon Slayer, oblivious to the gathering crowd, continued to argue with his partner.

The people of Calla, a small town which was located on the outskirt of the main capital Crocus, slowly began to loose the interest and continued with their business.

The town was very old, but the inhabitants were willed to keep the town in good condition, which was the reason it had an old but loving charm. The central point of the town was decorated with a huge fountain. It was the main attraction for the tourists.

But the pink-haired male couldn't care less about the fountain or the town. He would just stay here overnight and the next morning he would be on his way to Crocus, his main goal.

"Forget it! You can have the fish! Let's find a hotel." he said, and with that the whole argue was forgotten.

He entered a tiny hotel at the back of the founatin, and walked straight to the woman at the reception.

"Hello, my partner and I need a room for the night." Natsu spoke to the Lady, with his usual smile.

"Of course, Sir!"

After Natsu and Happy brought their belongings to their hotelroom, it was beginning to get dark outside.

"Hey Natsu, let's eat something!" Happy suggested.

"Sure, I saw that one restaurant, with a huge menu! Let's go there!" Natsu answered.

Happy began to jump up and float with his magical wings in the air.

"Aye!" He agreed enthusiastically.

So they wandered the street of the old town again, in the search of that restaurant.

It was a calm and happy mood in the city. The people were laughing and smiling, children ran around playing tag, and couples walked hand in hand.

When the wizard and the Exceed reached their goal, they decided to sit on the outside, in front of the bistro.

As usual Natsu ordered more than the half of the menu, while Happy was satisfied with a fish. The bistro was half full, and the people around them looked horrified to the Dragon Slayer, who once again, ate like it was his first meal in a month.

Pieces of food flew around and it didn't took long and the people near the pink-haired man started to leave or get in a place where the food wouldn't reach them.

Engrossed in his meal Natsu didn't notice how a pair walked right to their table.

"If that isn't a suprise! It's been over an year, and still flame-brain didn't learn any manners!" a deep, smooth voice spoke behind him.

Startled Natsu turned around and to his surprise saw the familiar faces of the ice mage Gray and the water mage Juvia.

"Gray, Juvia! Great to see you!" Happy chirped, his attention now on the two.

"Juvia is happy to see both of you again!" Juvia said in her weird way, but with a smile.

Meanwhile Natsu laid down his chicken leg and stood up to meet his rival/best friend face to face.

"You wanna go, Ice-cube?" he growled.

"Of course, Dragonbreath." Gray smirked.

The two mages glared at each other and Juvia and Happy shared looks, when suddenly they both grinned a gave each other a brofist.

"Long time, no see, Ice-Princess! How are you doing?" Natsu asked and sat again while Gray and Juvia also took place at their table.

"Good. We trained, took jobs and lived. And you?" Gray told in his usual shortcut answers.

"Uh, mostly the same. I was training to get stronger." Natsu spoke nonchalantly.

"Gray-sama forgot to tell you that Gray-sama and Juvia live together!" Juvia, with hearts in her eyes, happily chirped. Gray rolled his eyes, but smiled.

"So Love-rival won't stand a chance!...Wait a moment, where is Love-rival?" Juvia asked and looked around to confirm her rival isn't there.

"Right Natsu, where is Lucy?" Gray questioned and looked confused. Back, when the guild was still there, it was common to see the celestial mage and Natsu together.

"Why do you ask? Of course she is still with Fairy Tail in Magnolia, duh. And people think I am dumb." Natsu responded, while munching on his chicken.

There was silence. Gray and Juvia looked at Natsu, then at each other.

 _He doesn't know?_ Both thought.

Gray cleared his throat.

"Uh, Natsu, you joking right?" Gray asked laughing.

"About what would I be joking, Ice-cube?" Natsu responded serious.

The ice mage and the water mage shared a look again.

He don't know.

"Fairy Tail doesn't exist anymore, Natsu. The guild disbanded." Gray explains slowly.

Natsu, in the middle of eating, dropped his food and looked at his friend shocked. The tone Gray was using, meant he was dead serious.

"What?" Natsu asked silently and confused. The guild disbanded? There was no more Fairy Tail? When did this happen? Why wasn't he informed? And why the fuck they shut the guild down?!

Apparently Natsu didn't thought those question, but instead shouted them.

The people around the watched them curiously about what the screaming was.

"Calm down, Natsu! You scaring the people!" Gray hissed, and after he confirmed Natsu did in fact shut up, he sighed.

"Ok, so after the guild was completely destroyed after the fight with Tartaros, Gramps decided to disband Fairy Tail, and send every member on his way. It was two weeks after the final battle. Everyone set on their own paths. Some alone, some together. But when I recall it right, both you and Lucy weren't there at the announcement. We assumed you were gone together." Gray told lost in his own memories.

"Where is Lucy?!" Natsu smashed his fists on the table and had a worried, but also angry look on his face.

"I don't know, man! We didn't hear a word from her in all that time! Neither the magazines nor the people we met mentioned her!" Gray frantically explained, as he felt the heat began to pick up due to an enraged Dragon Slayer.

"We have to find her! I left thinking she was with you all!" Natsu pondered.

"Sorry, if you want to search her, you have to do it alone. We got a message from Mest… or Doranbalt, who wants to meet us in Crocus." Gray explained, while shaking his head.

When the circumstances were different, he would try to help his frenemie, but the meeting was important.

"You got that message from him too?" Happy asked suprised.

"What?!" Gray and Juvia looked at Happy and Natsu, who had his arm crossed and stared at the floor with a frown, deep in his own thoughts.

"Yeah, we got a letter where he asked us to meet him in Crocus." Happy told, and started to munch on his fish again.

"Natsu, Mest seemed very serious, whatever he wants to talk about. We have to meet him. Besides, Lucy is strong. I know wherever she is, she's fine." Gray reasoned with the pink-haired man, who shifted his attention back to Gray. They stared at each other for a moment, then Natsu sighed.

"Fine. I will meet him. But afterwards, I search her." He answered with a tone, wich meant he is dead serious.

"Good, then we can travel together to Crocus, and..." Gray could not get any further, because people on the street began to scream, and hurry all in the same direction down the street.

"A dark guild! A dark guild is coming!" were the only thing the mages could hear.

And if on commando, people with black coats, all bearing the same guild mark, a shark, were following the crowd of townspeople. But Gray and Natsu saw immediately, they were, too, running from something.

The former Fairy Tail mages began to stand up, so they could interfere, when suddenly something in the sky blinked and with an insanley speed, a golden arrow comes down, and hit the last guild member's coat, so the piece of clothing was stuck to the ground.

The dark mage was immediately stopped and fell hard on his back.

He looked over his shoulder to see what was stopping him.

"Damn that Bitch!" the dark mage growled, recognizing the weapon.

Suddenly, there was a golden glow, wich raced down the street to the leftover mage, before stopping in front of him.

The glowing began to fade of, and standing there was a woman, with a white coat, hood over her head. She wore a mix of clothing and pieces of an armor, wich was skin tight. Her face was hidden by the shadows of her hood.

"So you finally got me, huh Sweetheart?" the man sneered. His hood was now down, revealing a young man with dark purple hair, and black eyes.

The woman was not responding, she just held her arm in front of her. The golden arrow, began to glow, and transformed in to a flash, which shot to the womans arm. There, it transformed into a bracelet. Afterwards she put her arm down.

"I think there is no point in running anymore, huh? So let me show you my true form." The mage said, while he was standing up.

Sudddenly he held his head and began to growl. His eyes changed the colour to a green, which reminded of a poison.

Gray watched, when his right arm began to itch and get a few degrees colder. By then he knew in what the man was transforming.

His body started to grow and changing, while his skin was turning into brown scales. Horns grew at the side of his head. His clothing ripped apart, only the trousers remained. His face was now ugly with sharp oversized canines, and no human trace left.

The changing stopped and standing there was a demon, three times the size of a normal human, roaring loudly.

* * *

 **So, how you like it?**

 **I plan to update at least every second day, if my life doesn't interfere too much.**

 **Please leave a review! :)**

 **Till next time!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Welcome, Welcome….**

 **Here is the second chapter, and I'm sorry for the cliffhanger! I saw it fitting to end it here.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

People began to scream and hurry away at the sight of the demon, who was standing in the middle of the place by the fountain.

The woman with the white coat remained still and was unmoving.

"We have to help her!" Natsu shouted and was going to get to her, but Gray stopped him.

"Wait! Do you see how calm she is? I think she was expecting this. I suggest we watch, and when she is loosing, then we help her." The others reluctantly agreed and they began to watch.

The demon growled and stepped forward to the mysterious woman.

She hold her arm with the bracelet up to the side and the jewelry began to glow again.

Materializing in her hand was a golden spear with a big sharp end, which would make Erza proud. Parting her feet she took a battle stance.

The end of the spear was the size of her torso, and had a hole in his middle.

The demon charged forward with his hand hold up high to smash his enemy, but she sidestepped the fist when it came crashing down. The sheer force of the hit made the cobblestones of the street flying.

With an inhuman speed she jumped onto the brown demon, first on his right leg, then his left leg, and lastly on his right shoulder, before she catapult herself up directly over the demons head.

Natsu stared in wonder when the woman made a somersault and was upside down, twirling sidewards in the air like she was a circus acrobat.

Then she twirled her spear fast to stop it with the end pointing at the monsters head.

With a golden flash she came back down and hit the middle of the left eye of that demon, before jumping to the ground again.

The Demon howled in pain while clutching his poked and bleeding eye. Black blood was tripping down on the streets. He then got furious and smashed repeatly the ground to get the woman.

But with ease she sidestepped all the hits, by doing flic-flacs.

"Who the hell is she?" Gray muttered astonished.

The woman then glowed and was in a flash behind the monster.

Still glowing she shot forward and rammed her spear into the demons back, who cried out.

She pulled her weapon out and twirled it again, which let the dark blood flew off her spear.

The demon was crumbling to his knees, before he fell flat down unmoving.

The light in his eyes vanished. The demon was dead.

After one second of stillness the body of that monster was falling apart into grey dust.

The Weapon of the Lady in the white coat changed back to his place on her arm and the people began to cheer her on.

"She defeated this huge monster with only two hits?" Happy asked amazed.

The Fairy Tail mages shared a look and agreed silently to talk to that hero.

But before they even set a foot in front of the other, she glowed golden and left was a flash, wich raced down the streets out of the town.

In two seconds she was gone.

"Ok, seriously, who was that? She didn't even uttered one word!" Gray complained.

"Juvia thinks she was amazing! Hopefully she is not another Love-rival!" Juvia exclaimed.

Happy agreed with her while Natsu was silent.

Something about her seemed familiar to him and his mind was racing trying to find the answer.

* * *

Not far from the town in the forest was a heavily demolished building of a mageguild. Dust clouds were floating above the ruins, while here and there the wood pieces were burning. The smoke and the dust did a great job in covering the night sky, so no star was visible.

In the midst of the crumbles was standing a man with a brown cloak, which covered his entire figure. He was taller than the average and from the shape of the cloak you could see that he was broad-shouldered.

"Tsk. There you go again, destroying the whole building just for one man." the cloaked man spoke in a gruff voice which sounded annoyed.

He took a long breath through the nose and held it for half a minute, when he exhaled loudly and smiled.

"She was here three hours ago. I´m getting closer." he muttered to himslef, before he stopped smiling.

Again he took a whiff of the air, then another. He grunted.

"What are those idiots doing in the town? Are they..? No, she wouldn't. But maybe I should check on them."

With that the man began to leave the last remaints of the guild „Black Sharks".

Before the figure completly dissapeared in the shadow of the forest, a loud thunder cracked in the sky.

* * *

The Moon stand high in the sky and shone a pure white light through the window of the hotelroom, in which the former Fairy Tail wizards were staying. The town was completley still, every soul was asleep expect one.

Natsu was lying on his back on the couch, with Happy peacefully sleeping on his belly. Gray and Juvia were sharing the only bed in the simple furnitured room.

The Mages agreed on sharing a room, just to keep the cost low, and to leave and travel to Crocus together.

Natsu saw Juvia cuddle up to Gray and sigh joyfully. By the way the others took long breaths he know everyone was asleep.

Natsu would sleep too, if not his jumbled mind would keep him awake.

He felt utterly guilty and sad. How could he left his best friend alone?

Sure, he didn't knew the guild disbanded, but that didn't help the guilt ridden feeling.

He knew how much she hated and feared to be alone again, after all she went through in her childhood. Before he went away to train he thought about taking her with him, but decided against it. It was dangerous and he couldn't live with himself if she got hurt. Besides he had his own share of issues to deal with. Igneel's death left a gaping hole in his heart. In the matter of seconds one of his most loved persons was ripped from him, as well as all of his hopes and dreams.

The training and solitude was the only thing which could help to accept things and adjust to the situation. The thought of his dad still hurt, but the year helped to lessen the emotional pain.

He just hoped Lucy was okay, wherever she was in that moment.

Before he could finally let himself slip into a slumber, he made himself a promise to find his best friend, once they finished the thing with Doranbalt.

* * *

The next morning they were all preparing to leave the small town, and sat in the same restaurant again, to have breakfast, before the two hours long walk.

Once seated they could see that on the streets, were still black marks of dried blood from the monster as the evidence of yesterdays fight.

Gray was thinking about the unknown woman who slayed the demon with such ease.

Was she a just like him? But she didn't used any magic beside that bracelet, which could turn into different weapons. But that wasn't magic. The thing must have been enchanted beforehand. Also he couldn't feel any magic on her.

While they were eating Gray also notice how still Natsu was. The Dragon Slayer known for his loud fights, and troublesome hardhead, was unusually calm. He didn't know if it was that he finally matured, or if something was on his mind.

The Icemage decided to leave it. Wether Natsu would speak to them about it, or he would do something.

His thoughts were haltered when Juvia grabed his arm.

"Gray-sama! Would you like a bite of my croissant?"

* * *

"There! I can see Crocus!" Happy exclaimed, while he flapped his wings above the wandering mages.

"Finally. I'm curious what Doranbalt could possibly want from us." Gray spoke.

The four wizards were just half an hour away from Crocus walking through the wide landscape of grass fields. It was midday, and the sun shone bright in the sky.

"Hey Ice-prick, do you know were all the others from Fairy Tail are?" Natsu turned to Gray who had scowl on his face because of the name.

"I don't know were all of them are, but the Master disappeared. The Straußs siblings went to their old hometown, Erza, Levy and Gajeel wanted to help building the new council, to the dismay of Jet and Droy, which traveled to Hargeon. Cana brabbeled something about Quatro Cerberus, and Wendy wanted to visit Shelia, and I think she stayed at Lamia Scale. The others left the town, but to were I don't know." Gray explained.

"Gajeel in the Council?" Natsu stuttered, with eyes the size of platters.

"I know. Surprised all of us." Gray scoffed.

"Gajeel-kun can be polite, when he wants..." Juvia tried to defend her friend, but even she knows that this could end in chaos.

"I bet he did it for Levy. Because he liiiikeeees herrr!" Happy snickered, mischievously.

The four continued to discuss about the matter, while they walked to the city.

Happy settled on teasing Gray and Juvia, when Natsu suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder behind them.

After two meters the others noticed him, and halted too.

"What is wrong Natsu?" Juvia asked. Natsu was still watching the ground behind him when he answered.

"I thought I heared something. Like a person who followed us. But now it's gone."

"You and your stupid senses. You look like a dog, sniffing the air like that!" Gray insulted him.

"What did you say, stripper?" Natsu was distracted by the insult and punched Gray. The Icemage countered and a brawl between them started.

"Stop that! We have to get to the town!" Juvia reminded them, and finally they walked again.

Forgotten was the disturbance.

* * *

 **This chapter is more of a filler, but it is there to explain a few things, and to describe how the characters feel.**

 **Hope you like it!**

 **(Also the new Fairy Tail episode today was amazing! First the new opening, which had me already crying before the episode even started, and then Jellal badass moves. I hope the animation team can keep up with their work, because recently it looked much better.)**

 **I also like to thank the lovely people who left a review:**

 **GingerLily01, 3, kamy4, Gothazon, panda123love, kimmyycubb, taboadayvonne!**

 **Thank you so much!**

 **I also like to give a special thanks to ShanaFox15, who helped me so much! (You also should check out her fanfic, which I already love.)**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty! 3**


	4. Chapter 3

**Welcome back!**

 **I'm sorry for the late update, but after a huge thunderstorm the internet connection to my house was disturbed.**

 **But it got fixed and here is the new chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

After a while they finally entered Crocus. The town was as good as new after the dragon attack two years ago. Only a few buildings were still in repairing. The people themselves had no idea that seven real dragons destroyed the town. Doranbalt and the Council made sure to erase the memories of the civil people in fear that they would blame the mages as well as the royal family.

"Ok, Doranbalt has written that we will meet him in the tavern we stayed overnight at the last Grand Magic Games we participated. Let's go." Gray said and the four walked to their goal.

The Town itself was still amazing. While it was the largest city of the country, it was also the most beautiful. Wherever they looked were flowers, which decorated the houses or the shops. Joyful people roamed the streets, all had a smile on their face. It was the complete opposite of the terror they experienced when Future Rogue started his attack.

Half an hour later they reached the tavern „Sun Bar". Inside was full of drinking people who some were laughing and others were drinking their beer quietly at the bar.

Behind the bar was a huge framed picture of the Fairy Tail Guild, which showed them celebrating Erza's victory against the hundred monsters.

"Wow, I think we are famous in this tavern." Gray said with a smug smile.

Meanwhile Natsu scanned the people for a face with a scar.

"There he is!" he pointed to the corner of the room, which was darker than the rest of the area. Doranbalt was sitting at a table alone, head held low and looking into his mug. For the normal eye he may looked bored, but Natsu saw the tense in his muscles.

The mages aproached him, while they were dodging the drunk visitors.

"Hello Doranbalt. It's good to see you!" Gray greeted him, while he saw that he didn't wear the uniform of the council. Also his appearance changed. His hair was longer, his beard was gone and he was wearing normal street clothes.

"Great you've come. But please, call me Mest." he said. The smile on his lips didn't reach his eyes.

"So what is it that you want from us?" Natsu wanted to get straight to the point.

"Well, please follow me." Mest looked around then stood up and walked to a door in the back ot the Tavern, which led to the rooms for the guests.

Once they arrived before the right door Mest walked in without a word.

The mages followed him but halted shocked, when they saw a women with red hair standing in the middle.

"Natsu, Gray, Juvia and Happy! It's good to see you again!" The woman exclaimed.

"Erza!" the group shouted happily. Juvia ran to the re-quip mage and hugged her.

Erza changed rarely over the one and a half year. Beside the new armor, it was just her pony which was now slightly curled.

"What are you doing here, Erza?" Happy asked, while he landed on her shoulder.

The redhead smiled, before she pulled something out of her jacket. She held it up proudly for everyone to see. It was a ID badge from the magic council.

"I'm a temporary agent of the council, which is why I'm here with Mest." she explained calmly.

"Wow that's great! Now you can bust us out, when we screw up again!" Natsu shouted.

Suddenly Erza's aura turned from happy to ominous in one second. She glared at the Dragon Slayer.

"Why should I bail you out? Did you do something?" the question left no choice in picking an answer.

Natsu, as everyone else, was scared out of their wits and began sweatting. He hold his hands up defensivly.

"N-no no no! I never would do something!" he exclaimed fast with wide eyes and a nervous smile.

Erza turned back to a small smile, and her frightening aura was gone.

"I suppose." was her only comment.

Gray and Juvia sweatdropped. Some things would never change.

"So why Mest messaged us, and why are you here?" Gray asked.

Erza seated herself on the couch, the others followed where they could. Only Mest was still standing. Then he began to explain.

"As you know the council was destroyed after the attack of Tartaros. All members were dead, or either unwillingly to work again, so we had to start from the beginning.

Also many documents were demolished, and therefore unusable. Part of these documents were the trial and sentence of Jellal."

They all nodded, except Natsu.

"What does this mean?" he asked confused. Politics were never his strong side.

"It means he is now free of all charges. As long as he don't do anything criminal he is free." Erza explained. Natsu „oh"-ed, and Mest continued.

"Right, he is free now. Exactly like Oracion Seis." The mages were shocked.

"What?! Why?! We have to stop them again?!" Natsu was angered. In the past, they were hard enough to catch, heck, they even needed a alliance!

"No. They are free as Jellal. When Tartaros attacked I went to Cobra and we made a deal, where I got information on the demon guild while he and his friends were freed. I still don't regret the decision." Mest told them.

"That doesn't explain what they got to do with Jellal." Gray deadpanned. The ice mage was slightly suspect of the Council's intention.

"Jellal was the one who confronted them, defeated Brain and convinced the others to join Crime Sorciere." Erza now explained.

"Right. But the new council is still a little paranoid, which is why they observed the independent guild. And until eight months ago, they didn't do anything besides hunting dark guilds.

Then they parted. The former group of Oracion Seis headed to the East, while Jellal and Meredy stayed near Magnolia." Mest noticed the confused faces of the former Fairy Tail mages, therefore he continued.

"The council decided to follow the Oracion Seis group, because they seemed to be more prone for relapse. And everything was fine until three months ago.

Jellal and Meredy were spotted in Acalypha with a new person. While that is not a crime, this person managed to defeat 15 dark guilds until now, who sprout out faster than ever while the council was rebuilding."

"15 dark guilds in three months? That's insane! How strong is this person?!" Natsu shouted.

"Indeed, she is powerful. We got one recording on lacrima from one guild who had a security system running." Mest said, and pulled a lacrima from his bag.

Without another word he placed it on the table in the middle. The others watched curious while the lacrima began to shine, and eventually build a vision.

It showed a video, which revealed the inside of a guild. Tables and a bar were there similar like Fairy Tails was build. At the tables and through the hall walking were many people clothed in deep green. The flag behind the bar showed a moon crescent with a cross in the middle.

"This was recorded at the guild „Night Creatures"." Mest commented.

The video continued and suddenly the doors of the guild was blown off. From the dust cloud emerged a figure. A very familiar figure.

"Hey, that's the woman we saw yesterday!" Gray pointed out. This mysterious Lady, who defeated the demon with only two strikes, was apparently also part of Crime Sorciere, and did a good job at destroying dark guilds. Now he even wanted to know more badly who she is.

On the video was shown that the woman wore the same clothing than when they saw her yesterday. A white cloak, with the hood up. The man of the dark guild sneered at her as they approached the woman. But they could not hear what they were saying.

A man finally acted and went to attack her, when she just hold her arm up. A little blinkling light was seen on the chest of the man, when it suddenly exploded, and threw him all the way back through the hall, and even broke the wall behind the bar.

 _So she does uses magic. But which type?_ Juvia thought. She never saw magic like that.

The men on the screen looked stunned, but after a second they all went to attack her furious. But all she did was holding also her other hand up, as blinding light emitted from her and the video stopped altogether.

"With this attack the camera broke as well as the whole building." Mest sighed.

"I admit, the way she let the first man flying through the air indicates she is strong." Natsu said, while he imagined to fight her. He wondered if she is strong physically or if the strength came from her magic.

"Ok, she is strong and all, but she is attacking dark guilds. Where is the wrong in that?" Gay asked confused.

"It is not wrong, but the council is nervous. With such a capable person between also quite powerfull mages, Crime Sorciere is dangerous again. We don't suspect them to attack the council or normal guilds, but we have no information what so ever of that woman." Mest tried to make it clear for the others.

"So I asked you as well as Erza to follow them and gather information on that woman." Mest instructed.

"But what then? Once we have the information, what will happen to the woman?" Juvia asked. They all shared a look.

"The Council will decide wether or not to act. Maybe they will convict her and put her in prison, or they let her continue to wreck dark guilds." Erza spoke for Mest, who suddenly seemed uncomfortable.

"But that's not fair! She didn't do anything wrong! Is the council so afraid of powerful mages?" Natsu stood up and spoke angry.

"I think it's more likely they want to recruit her. But that's not the matter. Will you accept this mission or not?" Mest looked serious.

Natsu wanted to disagree, but Gray suddenly touched his shoulder, and the fire mage turned to him still with a scowl on his face.

"We accept." The ice mage merely spoke. Natsu glared at him, but Gray sent him a look which meant `I explain later`. Erza nodded, while Juvia looked unsure at the both frenemies. Happy just glanced at Natsu not sure while he was so upset about a stranger.

* * *

"What was that?! Why did you agree?" Natsu angrily screamed.

The Mages were now on the street again and were heading to the trainstation. While Juvia and Erza tried to tell eachother what they had been doing the last year, the frenemies started to discuss their actual mission.

"Listen Natsu, we don't know anything about that woman. She could be good, but she could also turn out to be evil. If it's the latter we have to inform the council to protect the country. But when she is good, she has nothing to fear!" Gray explained him while pinching his nose in an irritated manner.

"But I don't trust the stupid council!" Natsu countered and crossed his arm in front of his chest. The experience he had with the old farts were mostly they scolding him.

"Neither do I. But I'm more interrested in that woman. When nothing goes wrong we even can convince the council, but for this we have to know her. Do you get it?" The ice mage explained disgruntled. He left out that he actual is interested if that woman had the same magic as him.

Natsu just growled a reluctant agreement. Happy was glad the two didn't end up duking it out on the street. Again.

So the four continued to head to the train station, while Natsu and Gray were for once silence. Each of them had their own thoughts to the mission. While Natsu just wanted to leave the woman alone in fear she was treated unfair, Gray was interrested. He wanted to know why she fought that demon, but no other mage from the dark guild.

When they arrived at their goal, Erza went to the ticketbooth and purchased their tickets to Caelum.

Cause is the information from a mage and witness, which overheared that Jellal, Meredy and the woman are heading to Caelum to visit the Caelum Wizards Championship, which is like the Grand Magic Games, but of their country. For what purpose they couldn't gather.

The group borded the train, which left the station after a minute.

To all their suprises Natsu didn't become green, or was barfing. On the question he just shrugged, and told them it must have something to do with Igneel no longer remaining in his body. That shut everybody up, because they know Igneel was a sensitive matter for the Dragon Slayer.

* * *

"Caelum, huh? Interresting." A large man mumbled to himself as he entered the same train the five mages he followed did but in the last wagon, the farest away from then.

He sat down and threw his bag beside him. All the people who came by received a glare, which hold the message _Sit down next to me, and you die._

No one dared even to look the tall man longer in the eyes, instead hurrying to another free seat.

Lost in his thought he frowned while he was watching the landscape rushing by the moving train.

For a moment he thought he was discovered, when the flame-idiot noticed him back on the street to Crocus. He thanked the other idiot for distracting him, so he could fall back.

He had to admit the dragon senses of the flame-dragon-slayer had greatly increased. He know for sure he followed them on a gap about one kilometer, the longest distance he could create between them without losing them. Remarkable that dense flamethrower had noticed him.

But more important was that they had the same target.

 _The question that now arises is, who will get to her first?_

* * *

 **Hope you like it!**

 **Sadly my life interferes too much, and I think I have to widen the gap between the updates. But I try my hardest to release one chapter every week!**

 **Please leave a review! :)**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	5. Chapter 4

**Good day, my readers!**

 **Here is the next chapter, and without any more words:**

 **Enjoy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

After one day traveling with the train, and two days crossing the ocean, the mages of Fairy Tail finally arrived in the kingdom of Caelum, specifically the capitol Kardon.

The group were tired after such a long journey, and immediatly began to search for a hotel.

The town itself, was bustling with magic. It was night time, but for the citizens it never went dark. Wherever you looked was either a big shining sign of a shop or glittering sparks flying around, illuminating the whole city.

The People on the street were excited for the upcoming tournament. Children were cosplaying as their favorite mage, while the adults set their bets.

On the way Erza stopped by a information booth and bought a agenda of the competition to get more infos about it.

Once they found a hotel, which was not totally full of guests, they lost no time in getting rooms. They took a suite, which contained two bedrooms and one living room with a connected kitchen.

When they entered the suite they were speechless. It was amazing! Every furniture seemed to be very expensive, while the decoration gave the room a comfortable and modern atmosphere.

The group brought their bags to the rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys (Erza's will) than gathered on the couch in the living room.

Erza took out her agenda and began to read, while Natsu and Gray started to eat sandwiches they bought on the way. Juvia was just starring at her ´Gray-sama`. It was quiet for a long moment, except the chowing sounds of the two boys. The Silence was comfortable because everyone was exhausted.

With a snap, which gathered the attention from everyone, Erza closed her book after she finished it. The others knew that she was most likely to explain the whole competition now, so they turned around to her before she even could demand them to.

"As I thought, the championship is not that different from our Grand Magic Games. But instead of teams, every mage will fight alone. And apparently only Jellal is competing, not the woman.

Today was the elimination round, in which all the registered wizards fight until only eight competitors are left. Tomorrow are sheduled six fights, so that on the third and last day the two best Mages compete." She resumed for the others.

"Sounds exciting! But why they fight alone and not in teams? Are here no guilds?" Natsu asked surprised.

"There are guilds in this country, but not as many as in Fiore. Most of the wizards here are working alone. While here are just half of the numbers of mages we have in Fiore, the common people here like to use magical gadgets." Gray mentioned, from what here heard so far of this country.

"Well, Juvia is pretty tired from all the traveling. Juvia will now go to sleep." Juvia announced while she was standing up.

The rest followed her soon, also tired, but excited for the upcoming event.

* * *

The next morning the group was all wide awake and eager to get to the stadium in which the fights took place.

After a short breakfast Erza, Juvia, Natsu, Gray and Happy left the hotel and entered the street. Immediatly the group was pushed by the citizens who were heading to the stadium. They just let the flow took them with it, glad they didn't have to ask for the way.

Once the stadium came into view, the group was left openmouthed. This stadium was much bigger than the one in Crocus. Build with brown and white stones, the architecture was stunning. The roof was a giant glass dome, made with light blue plates which were similar to the color of the sky. Besides the entrance were gigantic statues in marble, a man and a woman in armor, who hold their swords crossed above the entrance.

The Masses were standing in front of the building, waiting eagerly to get in. Most of them had banners and flags in their hands.

An hour later the group of Fairy Tail were let in and started to get to their seats. Erza switch her menacing aura on so the people immediately hurried out of her way. Gray and Natsu tried to follow her, or pushed the other visitors aside. Juvia just latched herself on Grays back so she wouldn't loose him. Happy sat himself on Natsu's shoulder.

When they finally reached their places they sat down. They had seats in the very front, which guaranteed a good look at the arena below them which had an stone floor and a stone wall with four entrances. The stone wall was decorated with pictures of battles. Above the wall was a line were the private booths were located. In the middle of the arena was a vision lacrima which was on, and showed the logo of the championship.

Erza took a look around and scanned the crowd.

"If someone sees Jellal, Meredy or that woman, give a sign." she instructed her friends, who nodded. But so far they could not discover any of them.

Suddenly the crowd heared a buzzing sound and the roof, which was open until now, began to close and banned the sun out of the stadium. Then the lacrima vision in the middle went black as well as all the lights. Everything was black before a Countdown from ten was started on the vision. People around them began to cheer and whistle.

Once the countdown was finished, lightbeams pointed to the middle of the ground were a man was standing now with his head down. He was clad in an red suit with an black bow tie wich glittered. He had short black hair, which was brushed behind.

Suddenly he jerked his head up threw his arm in the air while screaming in the microphone.

" **Welcome to the 36. annual Caelum Wizards Championship!** "

The crowd went wild with cheering and clapping. The announcer bowed his head in gratitude and smiled to the fans.

"My name is Jack Melstone, and I'm your commentator for this event! We are very excited to see our Wizards live here in the stadium, but before we greet them let's watch scenes from the elimination-round!" Again cheering from the people.

The vision light itself up and scenes of fighting were shown. With Background music, the video contented the best snippets of the fights from yesterday. Gray and Natsu looked ecxited by the powerfull attacks which were displayed.

"There! Jellal!" Juvia pointed out for the others, and indeed on the vision they could see Jellal fighting and by the looks of it winning.

The video went on for another two minutes, when the lacrima went black again.

"And now, here are the eight remaining competitors!" Jack shouted, and the spotlight switched to one of the entrances where eight persons were walking out. Some of them were waving to the crowd, while others had an arrogant look on their face. The people held their signs up and were cheering for their favorites. The last one who walked out was an familiar blue-haired man.

"So Jellal won his fights. As expected from a former Wizard Saint of Fiore." Gray stated while crossing his arms.

Erza's heart skipped a beat by the sight of her friend. It didn't matter which hardships the two had to endure, she would always love him and fight by his side. When the guild disbanded he was there, and even though they didn't had a conversation, his encouraging words gave her all the strength she needed. She got up and punched her inner demons in the face. Without him she wouldn't be here now.

Natsu didn't listen to his comrade, because he was distracted by an familiar voice. He scanned the crowd and tried to pinpoint the location of the feminine voice. Then he saw her.

"There! I found Meredy and the woman! They are in the booth above the entrance on the right!" Natsu pointed in the direction, and the other followed his arm. And indeed there were the pinkhead and the woman.

Meredy was leaned over the balcony and cheering for Jellal while the woman, still clad in her white claok where leaning against the wall on the side, with crossed arms.

"Well done, Natsu!" Erza complimented the Dragon Slayer and pushed his head against her armor, which causes Natsu to groan and complaining about headaches. Gray beside him hid a laugh behind his hand.

The Mages concentrated on the Moderator again, who was finished with announcing the names of the fighters.

"... and to see who will battle against each other, let's take a look on the vision lacrima!"

The lacrima showed the eight names on plates, which now started to turn around to a blank plates, so the names were hidden. Then the plates began to mix up, before ordering again in one line. Lines showed up, each between two mages, which meant they have to battle.

The lines did go up to just four plates, and continued so, until only one plate was left on the top which symbolized the winner.

A sound was ringing, and the plates turned themselves around again, and showed the names.

Erza saw, that Jellal would compete against a man in the third fight of the day, which lead to the sixth fight in order.

"So it be, folks! And without any longer waiting, let the matches begin!" Jack announced. The wizards started to leave the arena, except for the two who were competing in the first fight.

* * *

The second fight was over, one mage no longer able to fight, and Natsu and Gray had to admit that the wizards of Caelum were tough. Not only strong physically, but also capable in using magic.

The medic staff brought the beaten out of the arena on a stretch, while Jack was declaring the winner, bringing the crowd once again to cheer.

"And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, here is the third fight! On the one side we have Nathan Wentor! And coming out on the opposite site, from our neighbour country Fiore, Jellal Fernandez!" Jack once again commented.

Nathan entered the arena. He was a tall and slender man, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a jacket like a circus director in blue with black pants.

Surprisingly when Jellal walked out the people began to cheer for him, as if he was famous in the country.

"They don't even know him and they applauding him?" Gray asked suspicious.

"In Caelum are strength and power more appreciated and more important than the fact that he is from another country. They saw him winning in the first round, so they admire him." Erza answered never letting the blue-haired man out of her sight. Her friends could see that her eyes contained a sparkle.

The bell ringed, signaling the match has started.

Nathan didn't waste time and started to bring his hands together.

"Sound wave: Symphony Nr.2!" he shouted and around his fist began to gather waves which make an incredible high screeching sound when he released the magic and the waves transformed to a beam which were shot at Jellal. The former Saint Wizards sidestepped the beam.

"What kind of magic is that? musicwaves?" Juvia asked her friends.

"He is producing music, which is materializing in waves who can be used as attack. Interesting." Erza mused, while rubbing her chin.

"Doesn't matter! He is hurting my ears!" Natsu was holding his hand over his ears, trying to block the sound out. Sometimes these high senses sucked.

Nathan saw that he missed, and began to shoot beams at a faster rate. But Jellal was dodging them all. The series ended and Jellal was crouching down, mumbling something then began to glow yellow.

"And here goes his "Meteor"." Gray stated, already knowing what was coming next. He saw that move already at the GMG.

Jellal shot forward. For the normal human eye he was just a blur, but also the mages had a hard time in following him. Like Nathan who tried to dodge, but he couldn't hold up the speed and was hit. He flew few meters, before crashing back to the ground.

Jellal stopped and waited for his enemy to stand up. Nathan hurried on his feet, looking pissed. He stretched his arm to the sides. Again sound waves were gathering around his fists, but this time they were the color of dark blue.

"Sound wave: Song of Death!" he screamed, and a circle around him was build, who stretched out fast, with an enormous pressure.

Jellal looked concentrated and was holding his hand up in front of him.

"Dark Abyss." he said and in front of his hand appeared a dark magic circle. The sound wave crashed into the circle. Most people thought this was the end, but to their surprise of them all, the dark magic circle sucked the waves of Nathan's attack in.

Now Jellal was the first moving, glowing yellow again, shooting forward to the Sound mage.

He tried again and again to hit him, but Nathan could manage to sidestep the attacks.

"What is he doing? Jellal hit him before, why isn't it working now?" Natsu asked confused.

"It isn't that he is trying to hit him." Erza said smirking knowing what Jellal's plan was.

Natsu looked at her even more confused, but when the requip mage didn't continued, he shifted his attention back to the fight.

"What's the matter? Are you tired?" Nathan mocked his enemy, when he still didn't get hit.

Jellal suddenly stopped a few meters away from Nathan and stood up.

"Who said I was trying to hit you?" Jellal glanced at the man, when he suddenly stretched both arms out, with two fingers pointed out. He circled his arm till one reached the ground. The sky above them became dark with thick clouds, when suddenly yellow magic circles appeared in an specifically pattern.

"Grand Chariot!" was the commando and from the yellow circles were coming now meteors which crashed with much speed into the arena and into Nathan, who couldn't dodge the mass of attacks.

When the shower of meteors stopped, Nathan was lying on the ground, his clothing tattered and his body still smoking. The bell ringed three times, declaring the end of the fight.

"The Winner is Jellal Fernandez!" Jack shouted into the microphone, and the silence in the arena was broken by loud cheering. In the middle Meredy and Erza. Later Erza would deny the fact and hold up a sword to your neck, while blushing madly.

The mage of Crime Sorciere waved shortly before he left the arena.

"Not bad. He got a lot stronger." Natsu said, and the others nodded.

"There is one more match coming up before they sheduled an one hour pause. Let's get something to eat then." Erza suggested. Natsu's belly growled loudly and the group agreed laughing.

* * *

"I'm sorry miss, but we don't sell any cake." A merchant spoke while shivering. He was confronted by an intimidating redhead, who was annoyed because of the fact that no booth offered cake. The wizards behind her sweatdropped.

"Come on Erza, the booth there has cupcakes. That's almost like a cake." Juvia tried to calm her friend down. Erza sighed, then nodded happy.

"You're right. Let's go there." And again her friends were stunned by the fast changing moods of Titania.

Once they got their food, they settled down at a table beside the food booths and began to eat.

They were almost finished when suddenly a voice behind them spoke.

"What a surprise to see Fairy Tail here." a masculine voice said.

The group turned to the source and began to smile.

"Hey Jellal! That was a badass move out there!" Natsu spoke while still eating, causing to fly food out of his mouth. Juvia and Gray in front of him looked disgusted.

"Thanks Natsu. But what are you doing here?" Jellal asked looking intensively at Erza, who began to blush madly. She was not good with situations like that, and it annoyed her greatly that she couldn't help but to act like a little girl again. The stuttering and the blushing was a big blow on her own pride. Erza wished Lucy was here. Her considered sister always knew how to help her in situations like that.

Natsu and Happy wanted to answer Jellal, but a swift kick to Natsu's shin and a punch for Happy by Erza, stopped them.

"We were around on a job when we decide to watch the Championship." Erza said in an robotic voice, and Gray and Juvia cringed at the tone, because even a moron could tell this was a lie.

Jellal looked intensively in her eyes for a few second, then smiled. Erza knew by then he looked right through her lie. They knew each other long enough.

"Oh great. If that's the case, I can bring you to our booth so you get special seats." Jellal offered.

"Cool!" Natsu shouted over the pain in his shin. The rest of them agreed, knowing that in the booth was their target person. This was an great opportunity to get information on her.

"Great. Follow me." Jellal waved, and Gray and the others followed him.

Erza burned a whole in Jellal's back with her staring. Why didn't he say anything when he knew she lied? And what was that sparkle in his eyes when he offered us seats in his booth? Erza couldn't find an answer. She decided to wait and look what would happen. She also reminded herself that this wasn't a meeting with her old friend, but a mission from the council. She had to focus on that.

When the group arrived at the booth it was almost time for the sixth fight. Jellal opened the door to the private booth, and the group stepped in. The mages were surprised by only finding Meredy in the booth. But Natsu was sure he saw the other woman in here before.

"Meredy!" Juvia screamed and lunged at the pink haired woman for a hug, who turned shocked to them and cought Juvia in her arms. "Juvia!" Meredy laughed.

The others smiled, and Natsu, Erza, Gray and Happy also greeted the bubbly woman. By the question what they were doing here, Erza answered Meredy the same explanation she gave Jellal. They talked for a while when the announcement was made that the pause ended. Gray turned confused to Jellal.

"Don't you have to fight?" he asked. Jellal smiled a little bit smugly, while walking in front to the balcony to get a look at the arena.

"No, I played my joker." he answered. When they all looked at him dumbfounded he laughed and began to explain.

"You see the rules stated that every competitor can bring a second person with him, who fight for him instead when the mage wants. The only trick is, when you played your joker and get to the final you have to fight him beforehand and the winner will compete in the final round."

"Okay, and who is your second person?" Gray asked again. Jellal just smiled and said nothing. The group wanted to ask again, when Jack the Moderator began to speak. The five then turned to the arena.

"And now, the sixth fight will start! Entering at the east, Madson Quimby!" And on the second appeared a big bulky man with a karate-outfit without shoes and blonde hair. He throw his fists in the air and seemed pretty confident.

"Oh and what is this? Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a joker! Let me introduce you: Dawn Stella!" coming up, was to all of the Fairy Tail mages surprise, the woman in the white cloak. She didn't lift her hood, and was merely walking to the middle before standing calmly before her opponent.

"Who's that, Jellal?" Erza asked her old friend especially naïve. The others cringed again at Erzas tone. She definitely had to take acting lessons again.

"Oh, you will see." He answered again mysteriously. Erza was nearly pouting by his response. But they got finally a name.

The bell chimed, signaling the match began.

"Oh, what is this? A little, shy girly! Honey do us all a favor and go back to the kitchen!" Madson mocked her, and all the women in the stadium started to "boo" at him.

But Dawn just stood there waiting for her opponent to move. That ticked the brute off.

"To shy to say something? Then I have to make you talk again, by screaming in pain!" he announced with bloodlust in his voice. Suddenly he lunged forward and tried to punch Dawn, who waited till the last second, then dodged to the side. Madson saw it and tried to kick her ribcage, but she avoided it again by crouching down.

"Is he using magic? Juvia can't see anything." Juvia asked her friends. They didn't response, because they were thinking, so Meredy spoke up.

"Oh yeah, I saw it in the elimination-round. He channels his magic into his muscles to power up his kicks and punches. While he is wearing a karate-outfit, he isn't really smart, and barely uses any karate. But he is indeed very strong."

Madson was now furious. He began to punch faster, and reached a speed which let his hands began to blur. But even then the woman sidestepped his attacks effortlessly, as if she was dancing around the arena. The crowd began to cheer her on, amazed by her grace with what she moved around.

Natsu and Gray thought the same. She was a damn artist, the way she was dancing around the punches, but they were as not as surprised like the spectators, because they saw her already fighting the demon in the same style. But what was also strange, was that they couldn't feel any magic on her.

"Incredible. She never uses one muscle too much when she is dodging!" Erza commented admiring.

Then it happened. Natsu saw it only because of his dragon like eyesight. Dawn looked up to the balcony they were standing, and froze. Madson, not even aware of it, finally landed a punch. Dawn flew backwards. When she came back down on her back, she skidded over the ground causing her cloak to rip. The piece of clothing flew off. The crowd gasped, corious what was under the cloak.

Blonde hair came into view, while she stood up with her head down. When she finally lifted her head, Erza, Juvia, Natsu, Gray and Happy gasped for air, totally shocked.

That was Lucy!

The crowed also looked stunned but by the beauty of that girl. Jellal snickered, while Meredy sighed.

* * *

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 **Kitty**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello, and welcome back!**

 **Here the next chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

* * *

They all notice how much she changed. Her hair had grown to her hip, and parts of her bangs on each side of her head were plaited along the sides to the back of her head, where it was circled to a bun. She wore a white bodysuit which had parts of an armor, as well as gloves. Boots, which were knee-long and made of leather clad her feets. Overall she looked like a fighter. But what they also saw was that her eyes didn't shine like they did back when they were together. To be honest her face didn't show any emotions at all.

They were all happy to see her again, Natsu also glad she was fine by the looks of it. But all of them had the same questions. Why was she with Jellal and Meredy? What happened to her? And since when was she so strong?

"What is Lucy doing with you?! And why that hiding and double name?!" Erza was more demanding answers than asking for them. They all looked at Jellal, who sighed like Meredy did before.

"It's a very long story. I'll tell you after the match. But know this: She is not the same as you remember her. She changed." Jellal explained with a sour look.

Erza huffed. She was beyond mad now, hating the fact that Lucy was right under her nose without her noticing. She was also dissapointed by Jellal. How could he hide Lucy from her own family? The more reasonable part of her tried to convince her that Jellal might had a reason to do so. Has it to do something with the change he mentioned? She hid herself not only from them but the whole world. The fact that Lucy was their target person also didn't sit right with her. How should they continue their mission now?

Gray was baffeled. Lucy was the mysterious woman? While it made it easier in getting information from her, he was afraid for his little sister. Not only Jellal mentioned that she wasn't the same anymore in a tone which meant it wasn't that good, but also the council who tried to recruit her, maybe by force, or to throw her in prison. He swore to himself he would protect his little sister from now on.

Natsu was just glad she was unharmed. A weight lifted from his heart, he didn't know was there. She wasn't alone like he feared, but he smelled the anxity on Jellal when he spoke about her. Something was not right with her. The protective side of him flared up, and he was determined to do everything to protect her from any harm.

They continued on watching.

Lucy, still known as Dawn to the crowd, took a deep breath. Then not even in a second she was standing next to Madson while glowing lightly gold. She kicked him in the torso, and it was like slow motion.

The man was bent around the foot when a wave of pressure came out of his back and with an incredible force his body was thrown back. Then he was crashing into the wall, creating a huge dent. On the ground once he was standing, was now a crater.

Once again the visitors and Team Natsu was left openmouthed.

 _How fucking strong is she now?_ Gray and Natsu thought. Sure she was powerful in magic before, but physically? Not that much. Erza thought she saw something little glowing on Lucy's feet. And Gray and Natsu could feel a tiny amount of magic coming from her now. They wouldn't have noticed it if they didn't concentrate. The magic felt like hers but was also slightly different.

Out of the wall came a awfully looking Madson back, which wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

"That was a damn strong kick, hellcat. But now it's time for you to run home crying." he sneered, then rushed to her aiming to punch her again. Lucy seemed unimpressed and just stood there waiting. When her opponent was in the right range, she hold her arm up with her hand as a fist with a glowing mark on it, and punched the ground.

A huge crack appeared and the earth broke apart while the crack headed to Madson. He was to slow and when he realized it, it was to late. A massive boulder broke out of the ground under him, and he was hit by it and was again sent flying.

"Since when can she use earth-magic?" Gray noticed but nobody knew the answer, besides Jellal and Meredy who didn't look forward to all the explaining they had to do.

When the dust cleared again, Madson was lying on the ground defeated. The signal came, and the crowd went wild.

"Winner is Dawn Stella! Jellal will have a difficult task in beating his beautifull joker!" Jack cracked the joke.

Lucy didn't show any expression. She just started to walk out of the arena, while never looking to her own booth.

* * *

He had to admit he was utterly surprised by not only her changed looks, but also her strongly increased power.

When her hood was lifted he heard the crowd mumbling how beautiful she was and why she would hide her beauty. While he agreed on the first statement, he know the answer to the question.

Because he followed her now for two months, and let's just say he learnt a lot about the blonde. And Laxus was never known for knowing too much of a person beside his own team.

When he saw her exiting the arena, he stood up and hurried down the platform, to reach her before her stupid friends did.

Because he wanted to finish the mission the first Master gave him.

* * *

Once Lucy was in the hallways which would lead back to her booth she took a deep breath.

 _They are really here._

When she dodged the attack from the man-pig back in the arena, she thought her conscious played a trick on her, by hearing Erza's voice. It was like an instinct to look to the source of the voice. And when she registered it was really one of her former teammates, she was stunned. Which brought her a punch to her belly.

When she landed, she heard the ripping and instantly knew her cloak was off. She heard the sharp intakes her friends did, and knew she was discovered.

By then she needed a second to calm herself down again. She felt the force of feelings inside her which pushed against the carefully created wall around her heart, but pressed it down hard. She could almost hear the taunting voice again, who simply laughed maleficent at her.

She knew she had to avoid her friends, for her and also her friend's wellbeing. She couldn't and wouldn't let them get pulled into her chaos. She had to protect them. Even of herself. The presence of them here would make it very difficult to handling the strong feelings she had for her family.

After another long breath her senses tickled and she could feel a presence coming her direction. Two seconds later Jellal appeared with his "Meteor"-magic before her with an rueful look on his face. She didn't even let him speak.

"What are they doing here?" she asked with a neutral face, but Jellal knew better than not to answer her.

"They lied, saying something of an mission nearby and visit for fun. I don't know what they want here, but I can imagine it has something to do with you." he responded calmly but fast.

"Well, then you can tell them to go. I don't want to see them. It's bad enough they know that I'm with you guys." Again she spoke with no emotion in her voice.

"But Lucy, I think it's the better you see them. Maybe they can help in finally bringing that wall down." He tried to convince her, but she merely shook her head.

"No, I don't want to drag them into my fight. And you know it's too dangerous if the wall crumbles. Get them out of here." She instructed, with a tiny flicker of fear in her eyes, which a normal person wouldn't have seen, but Jellal knew her condition.

Then she glowed, and within a second she was gone. Jellal slumped and sighed. Not only was she hardheaded, but sometimes too selfless for her own good.

He heard rapid footsteps behind him and knew the others finally closed up on him.

"Where is Luce?" Natsu shouted angrily at the sight of only Jellal standing in the hallway.

"Let's get out of here, and I explain you everything." He just said with a defeated look, and turned around walking to the next exit. The mages, clearly not amused but also eager to know the story, followed him again.

* * *

Unseen by everyone she moved through the crowd. The people she passed where too distracted with arguing about the fights to notice her. The big hat, which reminded her of the witches in her old storybooks, did also a big part in concealing her. She had bought it at a booth on her way out of the stadium. Blonde was an uncommon haircolor in this country, and would have gathered unwanted attention.

Lucy's mind was a mess, filled with thoughts of her friends. Why were they here? Why were they together? There had to be a reason, because she didn't belive in fate anymore.

Distracted with finding a reason why her old team was in Caelum, she missed the presence who followed her through the crowded streets.

She turned into an alley, which was a shortcut to the hotel she and the two mages of Crime Sorciere were staying. Afterwards she deemed this to be the second mistake she made that day.

Not even a few meters into the alley, she felt a magical pressure behind her, which tingeled on her back.

She couldn't turn, because suddenly a body was pressing on her back and a hand gripped her wrist, successfully capturing her.

"Finally I got you, Blondie."

With much force she ripped her hand from the man while turning around to face her attacker and getting a few meters between them.

The face she saw now couldn't confuse her more. Was today the "Let's-meet-Lucy-again-day?" She would have laughed, if she had any humor left.

"Laxus." she stated, as if it was not a suprise at all to see him out of the blue in another country on the same day she met her friends again. The gods must be laughing about her at this moment.

"The one and only." The big man answered with a smirk. He didn't let shine his confusion through. Was she not surprised at all? On his observation he had heard about Lucys "emotionless state" but to see it live was definitley different.

He couln't help but to feel a painful pinch in his heart. Lucy was the light and the heart of Fairy Tail. When everyone was down she was the first to cheer her nakama up. She even forgave Gajeel and him instantly, after all they did to her. He admired her courage to fight even when she knew she couldn't win, and he still did. Often he would look up to her when he needed encouragement.

But now she was cold. She might be physically strong and aquired magic power, but her warmth and the beautiful smile he loved so dearly were gone.

At that moment he promised himself not to only finish the quest Mavis gave him, but also to bring back that smile.

"I would like to talk to you." Laxus said then to her and crossed his arm over his chest, a determined look in his eyes.

This might came out wrong, therefore she tensed and took a step back.

"I'm not interrested in talking. I have to go." She proclaimed, and went ahead deeper into the alley.

Laxus would punch himself, if it wouldn't let him look like a total moron. What did Gramps always said? _You have the social skills of a stone._ This was the first time he couldn't agree more.

"Wait!" he shouted, but she suddenly glowed golden and began to run away.

"Dammit." he muttered with a growl, and started to gather his magic and activated his lightning speed.

Fast as light he followed her, when she left the alley and turned right onto a crowded street. To his own surprise she was as fast as him, which never happened before. Laxus was one of the fastest mages in Fiore. What magic did she use to be that quick? The golden glow reminded him of Mystogun... or Jellal. Could it be he teached her his Meteor?

Laxus was ripped from his thoughts when he nearly pushed a man over. Growling, he reminded him to stay concentrated. In this mass of people he had to stay focused on dodging the people plus pursuing Lucy.

Lucy meanwhile had no problems in avoiding obstacles. Skillfully and with grace, he had to admit, she moved through the mass. He growled. At this rate he would never get her.

Suddenly he had an idea which let him smirk. Gathering his magic he let lightning appear in the sky.

His plan worked and Lucy was distracted by the sudden appearance of the booming crack, and didn't saw the woman who halted to look at the sky, wondering where the sudden thunder came from. The two bodies crashed into eachother, and the blonde tumbled over the female.

He gained a few meters before Lucy stood back on her feet. She looked over her shoulder and saw him draw nearer. Again she glowed and speed away from him.

 _Damn that woman's reflexes!_ Laxus thought.

But then Lucy changed her tactic and jumped on the roof of the next house. Without much thought he followed.

The two raced over the roofs, and occasional jumped over the gaps between two buildings. They know that they were equal in speed and no one would win, if not something stopped the other one.

Laxus pondered over a way to reach her, when she jumped. She didn't spring up to get on the next roof, instead down on the street again. He wondered why she would hinder herself with the people on the street again, but followed her none the less.

Immeaditaly he saw her again, while she took turns into vacant alleys. Again he was surprised. She would know in empty places he could easily hit her with his lightning. So why she would take that risk? He was skeptical and kept himself on guard.

After a few turns he saw with glee that Lucy took a wrong turn which let her come to a halt in a dead end. Both stopped their speed magic and he closed in on her, while she stand with her back to him.

"Seems like the chase is over." He stated with a smug grin, glad this nonsense was over.

What he didn't expect was that Lucy turned around with a playfull grin. He froze. In the state she was, she would never show this much emotion. What was happening?

"Piri, piri!" the blonde said with unsettling two voices. Then out of the blue her body puffed up in smoke and two tiny blue figures were floating before him. Gemini. The stellar spirit was again sorrounded by smoke, which ment he went back to the spirit world.

"Damn that woman!" Laxus roared into the alley, and lightning crackeled around his figure. He was beyond mad at the blonde, who fooled him so easily, and at himself for getting tricked like that.

He controlled his magic, and forced his anger down. He took a few breaths to calm down, before he took a big one.

She couldn't get far in that short time, so he had still a chance to pinpoint her location by her smell. Glad he had dragon senses, he concentrated on her usual scent which contained a vanilla and orchid fragrance and latley a odor he couldn't pinpoint but which reminded him of the night sky.

After a few seconds he located her scent in the masses and Laxus began the tracking.

At this moment he ignored the inhabitants of the town and raced through the crowd. Knocking a few people over in his pursuit, he had to admit this chase was somewhat exciting. The dragon nature in him roared, encouraged by the thrill of the hunt.

In ten minutes he smallered the distances between them on 20 meters, and after he rounded a corner he could see her again. She was running without that glowing shine.

Startled she turned around when she sensed the familiar magic of the Lightning Dragon Slayer. When she saw him she didn't hesitate and activated her magic again and speeded forward.

Laxus at this point was like a shark who smelled blood. Or dragon in his case. The thrill of hunting had his inner dragon and himself fully in grip and wouldn't let go until he got his prey.

His magic increased and he got faster. Lucy sensed it and for the first time she felt a little fear pushing against her mind wall.

Distracted by forcing the emotion back down, she didn't saw the crates which were standing in the middle of the alley and with full speed she tripped over them.

For a short moment she was airborne before she crashed back down on the street. She slithered a few meters, before she came to a halt with her back on the dirty street.

Lucy didn't even had the chance to realize what happened before Laxus was on her gripping both of her wrist and pinning them down. He hovered over her and their position let her no room to move. With her legs between his he straddled her.

Laxus looked down to her with a predatory grin. Hadn't she locked her emotions away, she would be frightened, but at the same time turned on by this position. Because, let's be honest to have an overly handsome and sexy Dragon Slayer on you with such a predatory grin was more than thrilling.

"Got'cha, Blondie." he smirked. She gave up on the struggling and stilled. There was no point in fighting against him, he was just too strong.

"You got me. Now, what do you want?" she asked him while staring into his green grayish eyes. For a moment he looked dissapointed, but the emotion passed and he looked concentraded again.

Laxus was dissapointed with her calm demeanor. He loved to mock and tease people, enjoying their reaction. A litlle part of him hoped to see a reaction from the blonde, to be the one who could bring out emotions in her. Seems like he had to work harder.

"You know, the First is worried about you and your state of mind." He began, and Lucy listened. Mavis was considerate about her? Why? And how did she know?

"She gave me the mission to watch over you and protect you." he explained further. He purposely let the part of him healing her away, afraid she turned him down.

Lucy thought about that a moment. Laxus protecting her? She know he could handle himself, but this was the same with her friends. She couldn't let them get thrown into her chaos.

"I refuse. Leave me alone." She answered while looking him flat in the eyes. Laxus rose his eyebrow, then a vein throbbed on his forehead and he glared at her. He was surprised by her courage. Normaly people would avoid him or didn't speak to him in fear of angering him. But she was so nonchalat about refusing him that it threw him off track for a short moment. But the anger about this came and he had to compose himself before he shocked her with his magic.

"Look Blondie, you and I didn't have a choice about it! I don't want to ruin my reputation of 100% successfully finished missions, and I don't plan on doing it in the future! Especially when the First gave me a quest! Also I think we established that you can't run away from me!" He growled and to proof his point his grip on her wrist tightened a little bit.

Lucy knew he was right. She couldn't escape him and his dragon senses. She wouldn't agree with it, but of all of her friends he had the best chances to survive her mess. Besides Mavis was the best tactician in history. If she gave him a task, she knew what she was doing. She had to trust the first master.

"Fine. But be aware that this is not gonna be a fun job for you." she warned him with no emotion in her voice or on her face. The Dragon Slayer pondered a moment about what she meant with that, but when she didn't explained it further, he gave up.

With a growl he agreed and stood up, but held his grip on her wrist bringing her up with him.

"You don't run again?" he asked annoyed. She nodded, and he let her go. And in fact she didn't move a muscle or was looking like she was about to. Laxus exhaled the breath he realized he had hold.

"I have to get back to my hotel. Jellal must have arrived there with the others by now. And like you said, there is no point in running anymore." she stated. Laxus nodded with a lopsided grin.

"You know they're here for you, right?" he asked unamused. The appearance of her old Team was most likely to cause chaos. He didn't look forward to meeting them.

"I thought of something like that." was her short response. Then she casted her magic and glowed golden. Laxus followed her and they sped to the hotel.

* * *

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 **Kitty**


	7. Chapter 6

**Greetings folks!**

 **I present you the sixth chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

* * *

Jellal was stressed. No, even more than that. Erza and her friends were following him to the hotel, where he had to explain the whole mess with Lucy.

He didn't look forward to it, but he knew when he don't do it, one of Erza's sword would have the honor of hurting him. Only to be followed by him being roasted, then frozen and lastly to be drown by her team mates.

Fairy Tail mages were fiercly protective of their comrades, and only more of their celestial mage. He cursed Lucy for letting him alone with them.

While he was glad to see Erza again after such a long time, he couldn't help but to fear her fury. Who wouldn't cower in fear of the great Titania? Normally he would admire her strength but not when he was on the receiving end.

But while he was nervous, he also felt anger glimmering in him. He didn't know all the reasons, but why had Lucy's friend let it come to this? Why was no one there, when they found her? He didn't act on the anger because he knew it would end with a destroyed building.

After 15 minutes they arrived at the inn, and he led them to the restaurant, where the group sat down. It didn't took long and the wizards were glaring at him. He sighed, while controlling his anger.

"Ok, I tell you everything." He announced. Meredy on his side nodded. The pink haired woman was also not fond of the conversation. The Dissapointment weighed heavy on her heart. The great Fairy Tail mages, who fight for their nakamas so fiercly, was leaving one of them behind? Even until now she couldn't understand how this had happened.

Jella began to explain them, how Meredy and him were leaving Magnolia when they noticed a girl lying on the floor, about to get eaten by a monster.

He told them about the discovery of Lucy and her state.

"Her soul had shattered." Meredy spoke with a downcast expression.

"What?!" Was the only thing the group could say in their confusion. It was too much for them to take in. First they heard Lucy was nearly being eaten, and then that her soul broke.

"Sometimes a human can't deal with too much negative emotions. Eveyone has a breaking point. But Lucy has the problem, that too many tragic accidents happened to her repeatly over a long time. She never fully healed from one, when the next came to add. When the guild disbanded and all of her friends left her, it was too much. Her soul couldn't bear any more and shattered." the pink haired woman explained further with a sad voice.

The Fairy Tail mages felt the guilt nearly drown them. How could they let that happen to Lucy?

Erza was speechless. Her best friend had to suffer so much, while she was pursuing her own goals. Her need to punch herself was overwhelming. She should have been there for her. Erza felt like she even didn't have the right to call herself a friend anymore.

Gray balled his fist, while clenching his teeth. Was he so blinded by his own grieve that he couldn't see the suffering of his little sister? He felt like loosing Ul all again. It was his fault.

Juvia let her tears fall freely. Lucy was Juvia's declared rival, but none the less one of Juvia's best friends. Everytime Juvia needed help Juvia seeked out the advise of Lucy. Even through Juvia was sometimes mean to Lucy, Lucy gave her best to help Juvia in any matter. For Lucy to suffer so much while Juvia was happy living with Gray-sama, felt like she betrayed her greatly.

Happy curled himself into a little ball on Natsu's lap and was openly wheeping. He didn't understand what happened to Lucy, but he did know it was bad. He only get that Lucy felt pain and sadness, which was enough to know they messed it up.

Natsu took it the hardest of them all. The guilt nearly ate him alive. He left her with only a short letter. He know he was the last push her soul needed to burst. He could never forgive himself for the misery he caused her. He had to beg on his knees rigth before her feet, to even look her in the eyes again.

"We didn't know how we could help her, when Loke arrived. He took her and the two of us to the spirit world." Jellal continued. He know that the group in front of him felt guilty. While he was composed and thoughtfull in his behavior most of the time, he couldn't help but to felt satisfied at the moment. In his opinion they deserved that for abandoning one of their friends.

"Once we arrived we were told that not only Lucy's condition was the matter, but the consequences it brought with it, when she died at that moment." The voice Jellal used was a clue how sad he felt about the matter.

"But my spirits wouldn't let me die right before their eyes." a voice spoke behind them.

Surprised they turned around, and not only saw Lucy but a familiar Lightning Dragon Slayer beside her.

"Lucy! And Laxus..?" Jellal asked confused. The others started at the odd pair openmouthed.

Natsu put Happy from his lap onto the table and stood up. The need of hugging his best friend was overwhelming. He took another step forward, but he stopped when he saw Lucy's expression. No emotion at all was displayed, and her eyes were cold like the tundra. She must hate him. Noticing the tall figure towering behind her, Natsu looked at Laxus, and stiffened. The blonde Slayer glared openly at him. Natsu got the message and sat down. Erza, Gray and Juvia noticed the tension in the room, and decided to remain unmoving and silent. Lucy seemed distant to them and while that caused them to feel pain, they know that they deserved that and even more.

Laxus was having a hard time in controlling his urge to roast all of them. Because of his enhanced hearing he catched what the ex-criminal and the pink-haired chick told them. To hear that the disbanding caused Blondie's soul to split was more than enraging. Why wasn't anyone of them there for her? He left few days before his grandpa announced the news. But deep down he felt also guilty. He should have know that some people of his family couldn't deal with the devastating news. But his rage overshadowed that guilt easily.

Jellal was a little confused as well as the rest of the group by the sudden appearance of the blonde man. Apparently Lucy was ok with it, because she let him stood close behind her. He had nothing against Laxus, but he couldn't help but to feel suspicious. For a while on their travel he noticed that someone followed them. Could it be that it was him? And if he was, what was his intent? So to make the first step he asked:

"What is he doing here?" He kept his voice calm. He didn't want to sound rude. Approaching the Slayer respectful, he thought would be the best way of getting the needed information.

"He will be part of our group from now on. I have no choice." Lucy explained with her monotone voice, which let her old friends cringe.

"Way to break it to them, Blondie." Laxus said sarcastically while frowning.

"Why do you accompany Lucy, Laxus?" Erza asked, as she was the only one recovering from the shock enough to speak.

"I got my reasons, but from now on I'm Blondies bodyguard." he responded pressed, and Erza knew she wouldn't get more out of him. He never was the talkative type, and at that moment he seemed mad.

The two blondes also took place at the table, as the others made room for them.

"So I assume you were telling my story. Do you want to continue, or should I?" Lucy asked Jellal, which didn't know to answer, still thinking about the blonde man's intention.

"I will tell the rest." she concluded by Jellal silence. She turned to her friends, and focused on keeping her joy down. Even after they abandoned her, she knew that her old-self would already had forgiven them, and would be happy to see them after such long time. Jellal, now back to paying attention, saw the little shift in her eyes, and noticed her problem.

 _One and a half year ago_

 _Lucy was feeling how her magic left her body slowly. She didn't had a clue what was happening, but she knew one thing: the pain finally ended._

 _She only felt exhausted, and all of her senses were dulled, like she was underwater._

 _Warm hands were holding her to someone's chest, while the room around them suddenly changed. First she saw nothing but deep blue, but then tiny sparkles apeared around them and it looked like the night sky. A familiar tingling in her magic core gave her the final clue._

 _She was in the spirit world._

" _We're here." her holder spoke and she recognized him as her beloved lion spirit._

" _I'm calling the king now, he is already waiting." Loke said, while stil holding her tight to his body. On the egde of her mind she asked herself, if he spoke to her, but she heard two other voices, and knew they weren't alone._

 _Bright light was filling the room, and she slowly looked to the massive man who appeared. The spirit king arrived. But beside him was another man, in normal human size. He had golden hair and golden eyes. He wore a white suit, and had a kind smile on his beautiful full lips._

" _Oh my old friend... What happened?" the King clearly was sad. But why she couldn't tell._

" _Her soul shattered, my king. And she didn't entered the soul realm, because of unknown reasons." Her soul was split? So that was happening to her._

" _My little star is broken. Was the human world so cruel to her?" the man in the white suite said. He had a voice which was sooth and calming._

" _We have to do something. Her magic is leaving her body, and she will die, if we don't do anything!" Loke was clearly upset, nearly shouting his demand._

" _Right, my friend. Astrael, we have to heal her first, before we can lift the seal on her." The King of all spirit adressed the man on his side._

" _I will." the man stepped in front of her, and hold his hand above her body, which began to shine white. She felt a warm magic on her body. It was spreading through all of her veins, and reached the middle of her chest. After a minute the gold haired man spoke up, while bringing his hands back down._

" _She has unresolved scars in her soul. I can't heal her like that." Loke and the Spirit king began to frown._

" _But what I can do is casting a "_ cor obice" _on her. Her soul fragements will be put together again, but she will have to be emotionless. It's the only thing I can do for her." he also spoke with a frown. Apparently he disliked the idea._

" _Do it." the King spoke. He would do anything for his old friend to survive._

* * *

 _Lucy woke up again on a bed. Her senses were back, but her numb feeling remained. She looked around and found herself in a room, which was completley white. It looked like a normal bedroom to her, which conatined the normal furniture like a bed, a dresser, nightstands and a commode. It also had a balcony, where the doors were wide open. She could see that the sky had a beautiful pink color._

" _Looks like my little star has awaken." someone suddenly spoke. She whirled her head around and found the man in the white suit standig by her bed. Was he there all along?_

" _Where I am?" she asked him. For a moment she expected to be frightened, but the feeling wasn't there. Somewhere deep in her heart she felt a strange pull, but it wasn't hurting her, so she focused on the man again._

" _Still in the Spirit world. I had to let you fall asleep, when I tied your soul together again. And I lifted your seal." he explained her calmly._

 _The way he spoke and acted, caused for a comfortable mood, and his mimic, which had showed an encouraging smile, let her know he ment no harm._

" _My soul? What seal? And who are you?" she asked the man. Her old self would be shocked to how emotionless she sounded. The smile on the nearly angelistic face droped a little._

" _My little star, I am Astrael, your_ patrem. _Your father by magic." Before she could ask again, he continued._

" _You know, six hundred years ago, the dragons wasn't the only problem the humans had. Demons were roaming the world. The real ones, not the poor excuses the human mage Zeref created. Dark creatures, escapes from the Underworld._

 _At a point the human race were nearly extinct and the heaven realm, especially the angels, couldn't watch any longer. The beings of light arrived on earth to slay the evil and protect what was left of the mankind._

 _But they also knew, that they couldn't do this forever. One day they had to leave the world, and the demons would kill without a doubt again._

 _And so they chose four warriors with the purest hearts, and shared they blood with them. The four angel of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the night gave the warriors inhuman strength with the gift of their blood, and became the patrem to the warriors._

 _The humans had hope again, and the problem was solved. But the world has to be in balance in order to function. The warriors would go insane with the angel blood and her human nature clashing. To restore the balance within, the patrem of the Himmelsjäger decided to equipping them also with demon blood. While making them_ _immune to all kind of poisons or sicknesses the demon could inflict, the warriors were burdened with the task of controlling the evil urges the black blood causes. Only those who balanced the two sides out, would be at their fullest power._

 _With that they formed Demon Slayers, whith the task to protect the humanity and slay demons. They created the Himmelsjäger."_

 _After Astrael finished his story, it was silent. Lucy thought about the story and the man gave her time for that. Then she spoke._

" _And what has anything of that to do with me?" Astrael had a small smile on his lips for that question. Instead of answering it, he proceed in telling the story._

" _Once the humankind was safe again, the Himmelsjäger were no longer needed. The heavenly beings decided to seal the powers of their bloods, as well as the demon's, away. It was stored away in the human blood, and would live on in the generations of children to be born over the centuries. Once the demons would roam the world again, the four patrem would unravel the seal in the current child of the bloodline, and guide them._

 _The problem is that the by Zeref created demons gathered the attention of the real ones, which opened portals once again. After six hundred years of peace, the Himmesjäger have to fight again. And when I speak of a seal, my little star, what do you think is my purpose her?" He finished and smirked playfully at her. Lucy had to comprehend the mass of information she got._

" _You mean I am a descendant of one of those bloodlines? I am a Demon Slayer? But that would make you an angel." for a moment she could feel a sensation like shock arise in her but as quick as it came it stopped._

" _That's right my little star. I am the angel of the stars. And you became the Star Demon Slayer, a Himmelsjäger."_

 _Lucy needed a long time to wrap her mind around the facts. She was a offspring of a bloodline, which existed for more than six centuries. She owned all along a different blood, which waited to be used again. The quest of protecting mankind against demons._

" _Ok, but what happended with my soul?" she pushed the matter on the hand aside, to gain knowledge on this matter._

" _When your soul shattered, the demonic blood was splitted from your normal, and the angel one. It became a second councious, which hindered you from entering the soulrealm._

 _This realm is normaly where a broken soul stranded, in search for his fragements to be reunited again._

 _Because you couldn't enter it I had to cast a "cor obice" on you. This spell created a barrier around your heart in which your fragements are remaining. This way your soul is like a broken glass. It was put together, but without glue." Astrael calmly explained._

" _Couldn't you just heal it?" she questioned him._

" _No. You have to many unhealed cuts in your soul. It means that you experienced many tragedies, and you didn't moved on from them. That is also why you are emotionless. Your emotions are shut out from that barrier, because they could shatter it." Astrael explained with a frown on his face, which didn't suit him._

* * *

Juvia cried, while Erza grind on her teeth. Gray and Natsu were staring at the ground with a scowl on their face. The fact that they friend was no longer able to feel hit them hard. If it's possible they even felt more guilt. Laxus knew of her state, but even he was hurt to hear what she has been through. No one should endure something like that. Especially a person with a kind heart like Lucy.

"As long as I can keep the wall up, my soul is complete. After that he thaught me the Demon Slayer magic in the spirit world. The King made sure to speed the time flow, so the time was in the same speed as it was on Earth. Jellal and Meredy were sent back before I started my training. I spend ten months in the spirit world, before my angel had to go back to his realm. I was sent back to Earth, where I met the both again, and we continued the training, while taking down demons. I needed Jellal for training further, because he uses a similar magic and Meredy to help me to keep the cor obice in tact." Lucy finished explaining.

Beside the guilt and the sadness, Gray also thought about Lucy's new abilities. She was a Demon Slayer like him, but at the same time not. Her power mas made by angels and inherited, while he received his from his father. Which led him to the next question, how did his father get it exactly?

Overall the air in the room was thick of tense. The Jellal and Meredy saw the guilt clearly written on the faces of Team Natsu and the angered but also saddened expression on Laxus's face. The two ex-criminals were somewhat satisfied with the guilt the mages shown. All the guilt, anger and disappointment was causing a divide between the mages. The relationships of the former allies was strained. Natsu, Gray, Erza and Juvia felt like they drifted apart from Lucy and Laxus, while the gap between Jella and Meredy and them widened even further. They need to redeem themselves in order to close the gap. But with an emotionless Lucy, they didn't know if they could be successful. But each of them would help her, no matter what.

"So after Lucy told you her story, may we know why you are here?" Jellal asked Erza's group.

Erza saw herself in charge of explaining.

"The new council took interest in Lucy after your hunt of dark guilds. We were sent to gather information about you." she admitted, not happy about the outcome that Lucy is their target.

Laxus shift instinctly nearer to Lucy with a frown of his face. The council wanted Lucy? They have first to go through him, Laxus thought. Lucy just wondered what they might wanted her for.

Natsu wanted to say that he was from the beginning against the mission, but after a second he realized if they hadn't took the mission someone else would have. So better him, because he got the chance to find Luce.

Erza was torn apart. She didn't want to sell Lucy out to the council, but on the other side she was a agent of the institution. Even only temponary, she had to obey and bring information.

"What kind of interest do you speak of?" Jellal asked tense. He had a bad feeling about this.

"They fear her unknown persona and strength. After incidents like Tartaros the Council is suspicious of all kind of powerful mages they can't control. Crime Sorciere is a threat in their eyes, but they know as long as you don't commit crimes, they can not do anything. The fact you accompany a strong person who is destroying guilds, even though they are dark, is a risk they are not willing to take. Either they want to recruit Lucy to gain her power for themselves or they put her away to prison." Erza resumed.

"I don't like to act rebellious, but I can't do either one of the two possibilities. My task is to fight demons, and to work for the council or being in prison would make that impossible." Lucy said like she was talking about something unimportant. But she was serious in her decision.

"We understand that. Maybe when we explain it to Mest like that, the council agrees." Gray wondered. Natsu and Juvia agreed. Erza wanted also, but was not sure it would be that easy.

"We have to call Mest in two days. Until then we have time to think about a solution." Erza decided. The rest of the group agreed.

"But what exactly are you three doing here?" Gray asked now.

"In the guild Blue Shark was a man hiding, who was possessed by a demon. Lucy hunted him down while we gathered information from the other members. One woman said she saw him talking to a man, which magics was off the charts. They talked about messing with the Caelum Wizards Championship. So we agreed on traveling here and to participate. Until now we didn't saw anything suspicious." Jellal went ahead telling.

"More eyes means more chances of seeing anything, right?" Erza said grinning to him.

"We help you, while we're here!" she decided and all of the others agreed.

* * *

The group parted after they catched up for a bit. Team Natsu was heading back to their own hotel, and Jellal decided to accompany them, to speak with Erza.

Gray, Natsu, Juvia and Happy went ahead, while Erza and Jellal took their time.

"So, a temponary agent for the coucil? How fitting for you." Jellal spoke to Erza who was getting redder on the cheeks by the second.

"Well, Fairy Tail was no more, and the council offered me a place. So I took the offer." she answered. The time back then was not a happy one. Flashback and nightmares tormented her mind and heart.

"I was glad I saw you that day back in Magnolia. You gave me the courage I needed." Erza looked Jellal in the eyes, and ignored the blush on her face. She wanted him to know how gratefull she was.

Now it was Jellals turn to get hot cheeks. He was more than glad he could help her. Even with all the problems they had to deal with and the strain in their relationship, he still loved her. Back then as he heard the story of Tartaros he knew Erza would be thrown back in time to when they were in the Tower of Heaven. For his own sanity he had to made sure she is fine. To see her sitting by the river so curled up in herself had been devastating for him. So he had spoke to her, and even though he let her no time to response, he knew she would get over her depression.

Erza knew Jellal was somehow mad at her at that moment, but she couldn't help but to ask:

"How is your fiancé?" Jellal knew what she wanted to know with that question.

"She's fine." was the short cut answer of him. Both know what that answer meant for them.

Fate was indeed cruel.

* * *

Laxus was standing on the balcony the suite, in which the independent mages stayed, included. He had to admit the suite the game makers provided for the competitors, was more than fine. With five rooms and living room with a kitchen, they had enough space and Lucy said he could stay here, which he was grateful for. He didn't had the nerve to search for a hotel that evening.

While he was standing there he watched the night sky, disappointed he couldn't see the stars clearly. The town was shining too bright.

He thought about the whole mess he found himself in at the moment. If you asked him three years ago, or ten if you count the years on Tenrou Jima, if he would do the mission Mavis gave him, he would have laughed in your face. Back then he was such an asshole.

He had thought power was all that matters, and hadn't seen that strength doesn't always means physical or magical skills. Even though he hated his father, his opinion had apparently impressed him. He had rebelled against his grandfather, who did nothing but care for him. Fairy Tail and his gramps had brought him back on the right track and for this he would always be in debt to his family.

While he know his nakama would accept him one day, Lucy had surprised him the most. She hadn't knew him that well but she accepted him right away, even before others had. He was baffled on how someone could be so forgiving. Since then he has been watching her from the distance, silently. He wanted to know how the woman with such a great heart was like.

He wanted to get to know her more. He had asked his team mates, and everyone of his nakama in subtle ways, and had gathered everything he heard. And apparently she was the most loved person in the guild.

Deep in his thoughts, he didn't hear the door to the balcony open.

"You're still out here?" the same woman his thoughts occupied, said. She stepped beside him, and also looked at the sky.

"Just thinking." he shrugged. They continued to watch the stars in silence. Sometimes he looked at her. The pretty face with the enticing full lips, he sometimes wished he could taste.

There was no denying that she was beautiful.

But when he looked at her eyes he find what was stopping him on acting on his instincts. Her brown eyes who lost the sparkle and the shine they once had held.

He had to find a way he can bring that sparkle back.

"What would happen when the wall around your heart breaks?" he asked suddenly. She looked up to him, trying to find a reason for the sudden question. But Laxus made sure to keep his face blank.

"My soul will burst apart again. And then I am certainly my demon would take over." she guessed.

"Your demon?" he was afraid of what she ment with that.

"Everytime I have a hard time in keeping my emotions from breaking my wall the voice of the demon, which builded a conscious as my soul parted, would taunt me and telling me to let go so she could take over." Laxus listened to her, as she explained.

He didn't like that. Lucy had a demon inside of her head, who threatened her to take over once she let crumble that wall. He didn't know what that demon meant with that, but he would stop that from happen.

"Is there a way?" he asked her instead of pondering on such depressing thoughts. Lucy knew what he was speaking of.

"There is one. I have to sort out my emotions and heal the cuts. But Astrael warned me it is and long and exhausting process, which if I don't fully finish it, will kill me. And the bloodline of the star-angel would cease to exist. This, I can't risk. " she declared.

Laxus hopes were tumbling. He wouldn't risk it either. But only because he couldn't loose her. Her bloodline didn't matter to him.

"When did Mavis give you the mission?" Lucy asked now.

"After my team nearly died, because I couldn't protect them, I vowed to myself that I would get stronger. So I packed my things and traveled to Tenrou Jima for training. After a few months Mavis appeared and spoke to me. She told me she was worried about you, and gave me the quest of protecting you." He still would be training, when the First didn't appear. Guilt still plagued his mind sometimes. So many people died that day, while he was still living. But he wondered also, why he could speek so openly to her. Maybe he knew that wether she is like right now, or normal, she would never judge him.

"It isn't your fault, Laxus. You did all you can. And if you weren't there, your team, Yajima and the whole town wouldn't have survived."

Even though she said that with no emotions, he took comfort in her words. How did she managed to calm his guilt down when no one else could?

His resolve, to give it all at saving her, grew even stronger.

* * *

 **Mostly explanation, but it was necessary. I wanted to point out that Jella and Meredy are indeed mad at Team Natsu, but when they saw the guilt eating at them they felt it was punishment enough. Because after Tartaros everyone of them had their own problems to deal with. Lucy would forgive them, if she still has her emotions.**

 **Lucy is a Demon Slayer. With that I don't want write the often read story of Lucy running away, because of Lisanna, finds a dragon and becomes a Dragon Slayer.**

 **Also she is not a normal type like Gray, but this will be further explained in the following chapters.**

 **Thank you for the helpful reviews!**

 **Again, if you find any mistakes please message me.**

 **Hope you like it so far!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	8. Chapter 7

**Welcome back!**

 **Here the next chapter! But before you begin to read I advise you to listen to: "Champion of Magic" from the Fairy Tail Soundtrack! It was what I heard during writing this chapter and I found it to be fitting.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the Soundtrack.**

* * *

"You ready to fight her?" Erza asked Jellal, who sat on a bench in the preperation room.

It was the final day of the Championship, and while the two were sitting in this room, Lucy was getting ready at the other side of the arena for their fight, to find out who would take part in the finale. He could hear the faint noise of the crowd cheering, which was excited for the upcoming fight.

He nodded, even though he was a little nervous. Jellal knew she couldn't feel anger towards him, but he had the feeling she blamed him that her friends found her. Lucy was stronger than him, and the fact she felt no remorse, let him in fear the bruises he might is about to receive.

"Erza, I might need a medical kit after the fight."

* * *

The two mages entered the arena, and the crowd went wild.

The rest of the group watched them from the booth. Meredy, Juvia and Natsu were leaning over the balcony while Erza, Gray and Laxus were standing. The both S-class mages had their arms crossed over their chests and Gray had his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Who do you think will win?" Natsu asked the other pinkette.

"Lucy became very strong, but Jellal had a lot of training with her. They know each others moves, so I can't really say who will get the upper hand." Meredy said to him while watching the two fighters walk towards each other.

"I bet my money on Blondie." Laxus smirked. Gray eyed him suspiciously. The ice mage still didn't know what the blonde man's intention with his little sister was.

"Nah, Jellal was one of the Ten Saint Wizards. Even I struggled to defeat him. I set on him." Natsu countered.

Jack, the Moderator, announced them through the speakers.

"And now: The Joker fight! Coming out of the west entrance: the original competitor Jellal Fernandez!"

The arena was filled with cries especially from the female audience. Erza couldn't help but to cross her arms tighter.

"And coming through the east entrance: the beautiful joker Stella Dawn!" Jack went ahead with hearts in his eyes.

Laxus, Natsu and Gray growled when the crowd, particularly the men, went wild with wolf-whistles and openly drooled about Lucy.

"Ok! Ready? Let's fight!" Jack opened the fight together with the gong.

Jellal gulped. He knew he had to distract her from attacking. Her magic was more powerful than his, and if he got hit it would be over.

Lucy just watched him to figure out how he would move. By now they knew of each others techniques very well, so if she could pinpoint his tactic, she knew how to react.

Jellal was the first to move. He activated his Meteor and shot forward to her. She knew he wouldn't attack straight on, instead pretend and then hit. So she waited, but kept on guard.

The bluenette moved to the side and began to circle her. Lucy watched him for a while, making sure he didn't cast Grand Chariot.

Then he set one magic circle and Lucy reacted. She glowed golden and burst forward. Jellal ended to circle her.

The audience saw for the next five minutes how a yellow and golden flash repeatly clashed into each other, while moving through the whole arena, and even in the air.

"Unbelievable! The two are too fast to follow them!" Jack shouted in his microphone.

Then the flashes clashed again, but the two mages stopped glowing and flew from another, and were coming to a sliding stop on the ground, ten meters between them.

"Why isn't Lucy using that bracelet which can change into a weapon?" Natsu asked. Erza looked at him confused. She didn't know of a bracelet. But that did woke her interrest.

"The bracelet was a gift from her angel. She can't use it against humans." Meredy explained.

"And what kind of magic is that when Lucy is glowing?" Juvia asked also. Meredy looked at her smiling.

"That is mostly the same cast as Jellal's Meteor. She just don't uses Heavenly Body magic, but her Celestial magic. Therefore the golden instead of yellow glow." They all nodded understanding.

Lucy and Jellal faced each other intensively. Suddenly the both rushed forward to each other. When they met in the middle, they tried to punch or kick each other in an almost inuman speed.

The clashing reminded Natsu of his fight with Sting.

"Bad idea, Jellal." Meredy deadpanned. And before the other could asked why, they saw how Lucy kicked him in the gut. Hard.

Erza saw that the black glowing point on her underleg again. But before she could ask, Meredy explained again.

"Lucy gained a new technique with her spirits. She can summon their powers directly to her body without actually summoning the spirit. A mark appears on the bodypart which she uses with the specifically power. Right now she casted Capricorns ability in kickfighting. Which explains her glowing mark on her underleg."

"Wow, that's awesome!" Natsu was amazed. Laxus had to contain his smirk. He had the sudden urge to fight her and see if she could put up a fight against him.

"Oh my god! Stella pushed Jellal back! Is this the end for him?" Jack commented.

Jellal landed hard on the ground. He was mad at himself. Normally he knew Lucy would use her spirit's power in hand-to-hand combat, but he let himself lead to that, because he wanted to beat her. Stupid male pride.

He stood up panting but focused again and gathered his magic. His hand shot forward and a magic circle appeared before him.

"Cosmos Force: Strike of Saturn!" he shouted and an enormous orange magic beam was shooting from the magic circle. The audience awed at the orange light and the magic pressure, which filled the stadium.

Lucy saw the attack heading to her, and even she had to struggle because she could only dodge by few inches. Jellal saw that and and moved the beam, which followed her direction.

The blonde moved to the side and when the wall of the arena came she jumped on it and used it to lift herself up and jumping backwards over the beam. Middair her wrist began to glow pink. When she landed, the ground under her hands gave in, and Lucy disapeared into the floor.

"And Stella dissapeared from our sight! Where she might be now?"

"Let me guess, Virgo." Gray wondered, while Meredy nodded her head with a smirk.

Jellal let his spell dissapear and listened to his suroundings. Virgo's magic allowed her to move through the earth, so he guessed she would start a surprise attack from under him.

The audience was silent, waiting for something to happen.

The silence was broken, as suddenly multiple earth pillars started to came out of the ground.

"What?" Jellal was surprised. She didn't lift him with such a pillar, and was still no where to see. What was her plan?

Distracted by the pillars he nearly didn't hear her coming from behind him. In the last moment he turned around and crouched down as she came flying at him with glowing fists. Loke's Regulus Punch.

"That is a great tactic, to distract the opponent while attacking from behind." Erza admitted.

Laxus agreed. Blondie was for sure clever.

Both mages were facing each other again. But this time it was Lucy who moved first. The celestial mage tried to punch her opponent.

But Jellal could block the attacks, and before realized that the kicks and punches were to soft for her strength, it was too late. The "real" Lucy emerged from behind one of the earth pillars, who were still standing. Her copy vanished into thin air. She used Geminis magic to create a copy of her.

She hold her hands up to the side before bringing them forward.

"Regulus: Beam!" she announced and Jellal wasn't fast enough to dodge the golden beam which had the form of a lion's head.

It hit the Heavenly Body mage full on, and he was thrown back.

Hard he landed back on the ground. Hurting from the impact he lad there. Lucy waited if he would stand up again. But the blue haired man merely hold his hand up before he spoke.

"I give up!" Jellal shouted. He knew the longer they would fight, his chances of winning would become smaller with every second.

Natsu was baffeled, while Laxus smirked.

"That coward! Jellal! Stand up and fight!" The Fire Dragon Slayer shouted.

"Fernandez gave up! Winner is Stella Dawn!" Jack shouted over the cheering the crowd made.

"The final battle will be Stella vs. Aileen! In three hours the fight over the title Wizard Champion of Caelum will take place, so be sure to be back!" with that the program switched to a pause.

"I have to admit Lucy became a lot stronger, and I think that was not even all of her magic she can use." While touching her chin, Erza concluded.

In the arena Lucy went to a heavy panting Jellal, and helped him back on his feet. The former criminal smiled.

"Well done, Lucy. Your surpassed your teacher." he said to the blonde proudly, who only nodded. He knew she was happy to hear that.

* * *

The sun shone brightly in the sky when the group settled down in the park near the stadium to eat Lunch.

"Way to loose Jellal! Now I own the Lightning rod money!" Natsu accused the blue haired man. Laxus had to laugh. It was so easy to rile up the flaming idiot.

Jellal rose his eyebrow while looking at Natsu. He had nothing to say to such ignorance of facts.

"Doesn't matter. You two showed great skill, and delivered a stunning battle." Erza complimented, but everyone saw she only wanted to cheer up her childhood friend.

After that there was silence, because they ate the sandwiches they bought at a food stand.

In the park was a joyful mood. It was full with playing children and talking people who took a walk. The bird chirped and a mild wind played with their hair.

"So which is your next opponent?" Natsu asked the blonde Celestial mage. The woman looked up at him, and after a while of thinking she answered.

"I didn't saw much of my opponent." was her short response. Natsu twiched. With her emotionless state, it was like speaking to a stranger. There was now a gap between them, which he didn't know to overcome. He missed the warmth of his best friend dearly.

"Now that you mention it, I did too, saw nothing from her." Meredy remembered and Jellal agreed.

"The best is, you keep up your guard and wait till she attacks, so you now how to counter." Laxus advised Lucy, while the others stared at him. Since when did Laxus talked to Lucy so freely? Natsu couldn't help but to feel a little jealous.

Lucy nodded. She would have to see what her opponent is cabable of.

* * *

"Let's start the final battle of the Caelum Wizard Championship!" Jack announced while firework was going off in the sky. The masses were heated up, and wanted to finally see the two best mages fight.

Lucy entered the arena, and saw her opponent do the same. The woman who she would be fighting was tall and skinny. Long and straight black hair adorned her head. Her skin was almost white like wall. She wore a deep green dress, which looked like it was torn apart at the end. Under the dress she wore black pants and high heeled boots which reached her upper calf.

Her friends were observing again from their booth.

"She looks weak." Meredy stated. The pinkette didn't like the glooming aura the black haired woman had around her.

"Don't be fooled by her looks. There must be a reason she got to the final." Jellal reminded her.

"Also pay attention to your suroundings. We didn't found any demonic signs yet, but that doesn't mean there will be none. If you feel anything unsettling give a warning." he instructed the group. They nodded and watched the audience.

The gong signaled the start the last fight of the Championships.

"You know I hate blonde little girls like you." Aileen told Lucy with a cruel smile on her lips.

"Let's make it quick so I can get my cash!" the black haired woman shouted. She hold her hands up, and under her appeared a dark green magic circle.

"Hounds of the death! Come to my side and feast on my enemies!" With that ten dogs appeared from the ground. But they weren't normal dogs, they were half rotten corpses.

Natsu and Laxus hold their nose. The smell of rotten flesh hit their noses full on. And Natsu even had to control the urge to empty his stomach.

"She is a necromancer!" Juvia declared with disgust.

"Attack!" Aileen give the signal and the hounds speeded in Lucy's direction. But she stood there unmoving again.

The hounds were closing in on her and right before they reached her they jumped up.

The audience was shocked and screamed. To them it looked like the blonde lost.

Suddenly there were flashing golden slices through the mass of hounds, and the beasts were cutted and thrown back. Standing in the middle were Lucy with a golden sword ready to strike in a battle stance. She didn't had one scratch on her.

"Oh, I never saw such a technique!" Erza exclaimed with sparkling eyes. She was excited to see new sword fighting moves.

"No, my babys! You bitch! You will regret that!" Aileen shouted furious. Again her magic circle appeared, but this time from the ground came three bears, also rotten to a point were the people could see bones.

Parents were shielding the eyes of their children, and others looked away from the disturbing sight.

The bears charged forward, but Lucy transformed the weapon back and cast Virgo's power to her wrists. She punched the ground and an earth pillar, similar to one of the last fight, rised up, simultaneously lifting her up out of the reach from the beasts.

Once high enough she lifted Virgo's power and summoned Sagittarius power to the inside of her hand. Then she transformed the bracelet into a bow.

With the enhanced Archery skill, thanks to her celestial spirit, she took down all three bears with three arrows she shot at the same time.

Erza's eyes grew even wider and her friends were worried she would drool soon.

Aileen was standing still there with her head down, while Lucy came back from the pillar, which crumbled once the magic was lifted.

Suddenly she screeched like a banshee while looking with widened eyes at Lucy.

"You bitch! You're the reason I have to bring back my dark days!" she said and left to wonder what she meant by that.

Jellal was tense. Could it be the woman was part of a demonic dark guild?

Lucy decided it was enough and charged forward.

But suddenly she stopped completley, midway in her movement. She asked what was happening, as were her friends.

Aileen looked at her with a maleficent look in her eyes, while she was holding up her hand.

"Necromancy isn't my only magic." she said, then she laughed madly.

Lucy's felt like her body was being hold by an invisible force, the blood in her veins was burning up and the flow altogether stopped. When her opponent balled her fist it felt like her lungs were torn apart. Her body shook, and she coughed. But she got a wet feeling on her lips and knew it was bad. She was coughing blood.

"Lucy!" All her friends shouted worried. The boys balled their fists while the Slayers also growled. Juvia and Meredy were covering their mouth in shock, and Erza glared openly at the black haired mage in the arena.

"That's right. With my second magic I can control the blood of my enemies!" Aileen said proudly while cackling.

"Is that even legal?!" Gray asked furious.

Lucy's thoughts were working for a solution. There had to be a way how she could lift the control.

"So after I finally pinned you down, I call out my special pet to play with you!" the mad woman announced as a margic circle appeared, even wider than the ones before. The ground was shaking with the force in which the creature was coming out.

Emerging from the ground was a tall Wyvern with black scales.

* * *

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 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	9. Chapter 8

**Greetings my dear readers!**

 **Musical inspiration for this chapter also comes from the Fairy Tail Soundtrack and is called "Fists Blazing". I like the little darker mood in it, which fitted the ongoing fight(s).**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the Soundtrack.**

* * *

The Wyvern filled nearly the whole stadium, and the people screamed at the sight of him.

The right eye of the beast was no longer there, and the wings of him had many wholes. Scales were missing, and disgusting juices came out of the missing skin.

Altogether the creature looked liked it came directly from a nightmare.

Aileen laughed madly, while Lucy felt for the first time that fear was pushing against her wall. She was still under the control of the blood magic, and couldn't move one inch. The Wyvern roared loudly, and fixated on her.

" _Let go Missy. Let me take over so I can destroy that thing."_ A female voice in her head said. Her demon was back.

"Never." she mumbled to herself. When her demon would take over, she knew she could never go back to her old self, she would loose her sanity. But the appearance of her second counciuos brought her an idea.

"Baby! Finish this bitch!" Aileen shouted and with that the giant Wyvern started his attack. With his big legs it walked towards her and lift his right wing to slice her with his sharp claw attached on the top of the wing.

"Lucy!" her friends shouted in agony.

The wing came crashing down. The audience screamed, not sure if the blonde survived that attack.

The mages in the booth were speechless. The hearts of them were breaking by the thought of never seeing their beloved Celestial mage again.

When the dust cleared, they exhaled loudly in relief. Laying only one meter away from the wing, was Lucy, unharmed.

"You dodged?" Aileen was dumbfounded. "How is that possible?! I have you under blood control!" she was furious, but also slightly scared.

"She broke the control? But how?" Gray asked surprised.

Lucy stood up slowly, while transforming her bracelet into a sword again. She was shivering in exhaustion. The control on her blood was still there, but she could move slowly now.

"Doesn't matter! Wyvern go!" the black haired woman screeched. The creature turned to Lucy again, and was swinging his tail towards the blonde.

She let her body drop flat on the ground, knowing she couldn't jump high enough to dodge. The tail swang over her body and missing her by only inches, scraching her nose.

The creature hold his foot up, only to let it chrashing back down. Only with seconds to spare coud the Celestial mage roll away to the side.

"This is bad! Lucy may got a little control back, but she can only move slow!" Meredy nearly cried.

"Why isn't she using her spirits?" Natsu spoke fast. Jellal grit his teeth what the three Slayers saw.

"She does't bring them out to fight anymore." was the answer spoken with a grave voice.

Lucy panted in exhaustion. She got a little control over her body back, but it wasn't enough to really fight that thing. She could barely dodge.

" _Missy, that's not enough. Take more of my strength."_ spoke the demon in her head again.

For the first time she had to agree.

Her skin was itching on her back, and she noticed how she gained more control of her body back.

The Wyvern wanted to stomp on her again. The foot came down, but she didn't moved.

Before the foot touched the ground, there was a golden glow.

"Oh my god! The Wyvern stomped on Stella! Is that her defeat?" Jack spoke, while the whole stadium was silent. The people were shocked, to witness such brutality.

Laxus was now leaning over the balcony in anticipation. He gripped the stone under his hands so hard that the stone cracked under the force.

Suddenly the Wyvern howled in pain and moved back. Standing under his foot was Lucy kneeling down, with her sword held up high.

"Brilliant! She turned the strength of the beast against him!" Erza spoke astonished.

The Wyvern was tumbling around in pain, and crashed into the walls of th arena. The whole building was shaking, and the people screamed, while hurrying away.

Aileen looked unbelieving to the blonde.

"How can you move under my control?!" she shouted.

Lucy merley stood up and moved to a battle stance with her weapon.

"You only can control human blood. But I am not only human." was her answer.

"Dammit Lucy! She is using her demon blood!" Jellal cursed. The others looked at him quizically. He explained that when the Celestial mage is using her demon blood her strength increases because the demonic blood is thickening, but it is much harder to hold her inner demon back from taking over, because the blood strengthen her negative feelings, which clash on her mind wall.

Lucy saw the destruction the Wyvern made, and decided to end it immeadiatly.

She charged forward. But not to the creature, instead to the woman.

Aileen did't had a chance to even react before the blonde was standing behind her and hold her sword up to her throat. She gulped.

"Send your Wyvern away, before the people get hurt." she spoke with no emotions, what frightened the Necromancy mage even more. She hestiantly nodded.

Under the beast appeared the same circle as before, and slowly it sank back to the ground.

The audience was glad the blonde woman stopped the monster from wrecking the building.

"Do you know Black Shark?" Lucy asked the black haired woman intensivly. The woman in front of her didn't showed any sign of recognition by the name, while she asked dumbly:

"What?"

Lucy knew the woman had no idea of what she was speaking. Aileen didn't had to do anything with demons.

"And the Winner is Stella Dawn! She is the 36. Wizard Champion of Caelum!" Jack screamed in the microphone and the crowd went wild.

Fireworks were booming in the sky, and confetti was thrown in the arena.

"Wohoo, Luce is the best!" Natsu shouted cheerfully. Meredy did the same, while dancing around. The others had a smile on their face, but a gnawing feeling in their gut. Something keeped them from being totally happy about Lucy's victory.

The blonde Demon Slayer let go of Aileen, which tumbled down in defeat. Tears gathered in her green eyes.

"I'm sorry I used that technique on you, but I had to win the money for my poor village." Aileen sobbed into her hands.

"Try a guild. There you can work with magic for money." Lucy said with an empty voice. She knew if she had still emotions, she would easily forgive that woman.

While the audience was still cheering, Lucy wanted to ask her where she learned that magic, but was interrupted.

She looked up in the sky, with wide eyes.

A enormous magic pressure was heading from the sky with fast speed.

"What is wrong with Luce?" Natsu asked, before he also stilled. The others felt it then, too.

In the last second Lucy could grab the defeated mage and throw themselves to safety, as something was crashing into the arena like a meteor.

The ground shook voilently when the thing reached the ground and was tearing the earth apart. Screaming people were fleeing the building, while dust clouds filled the arena.

Lucy was thrown back by sheer force the impact created and dust filled her lungs, which made her cough violently.

The rest of her friends stood up again, they also had been pushed back. Laxus was the first on his feet again and was frantically looking over the balcony searching for the blonde head.

"Lucy!" he screamed and jumped down in the arena, after he didn't find her.

He came only two meters far, as he crashed into something. He looked perplexed because he saw nothing. He reached with his hand, and found an invisible wall, keeping him from entering the arena further.

Enraged, he brought his fist down fortified with his magic, but the wall woudn't break.

The rest of the group finally got to him, but were too, stopped by the wall.

"We have to bring it down!" Natsu exclaimed furious. He punched and kicked. But none of his attacks showed any effect.

The dust in the arena cleared and gave free sight of what crashed into the ground.

It was a man.

He had white long hair which was in a low ponytail with a black ribbon and wore a black tunic. His gold eyes nearly shone, and he was handsome. He seemed to be in his mid twenties. His had a arrogant smirk on his lips.

Behind him was standing a women, which was beautiful. Her hair was long and were it was black on her head, the color changed steadily to purple to the ends. Her eyes were nearly black, with purple freckles. She was tall and lean, but still had a curvy body. She wore a dark blue blouse with a leather corsette, leather pants who were tucked under knee high combat boots.

When Lucy saw the woman, pictures flashes trough her mind, showing her a sky which turned from twilight to dawn, before they stopped. For a moment she wondered what the pictures were, and where it came from, but she pushed it aside.

The man looked around, till his eyes found her. Then his smirk turned into a satisfied smile and he got a maleficent gleam in his eyes.

"Ah, Astraels little star. It´s a pleasure to meet you again." he spoke in a smooth and masculine voice.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked him. She stood up and stepped before Aileen. It was clearly that the stranger wanted her. Concentrating, she analyzed him. Magic was radiating from him what felt like a thick purple mass, but it had a note in it, which she never saw on earth.

Then it became clear to Lucy, what the person exactly was.

"I'm Tertius, my dear. But my name doesn't matter to you. Because you will not leave this arena alive." the white haired man spoke arrogantly, like he was talking to an insect.

Lucy's muscles tensed. She knew her opponent was way too strong for her. She had to find a tactic, but therefore she had to know what his magic was. While she changed her bracelet into a katana and positioning herself into a battle stance, she calculated her moves.

"Oh! Is that Astrael's little piece of jewelery? But dear, you cant't harm humans with it." Tertius laughed mockingly, and sounded like he was scolding a child.

"You're right. But you aren't a human. You're a fallen angel." Lucy stated, while her eyes never left him.

Laxus and the others saw and heared everything, whiler they were still trying to break throug the barriere. Jellal grew frantic. If this man was an angel with the intent to kill Lucy, then the situation was turning out to be more than bad for them.

The fallen began to chuckle without any humour.

"Not only pretty, but smart as well! It's sad, that I have to kill you. But you're in my way. I don't have any use for a half-baked Slayer!" with every word he sounded more angry.

Lucy was about to move forward, but he hold his hand up.

Suddenly her shoulder hurt badly, and from the corner of her eye she saw the blood flying.

The Fallen had shot a tiny beam from his hand, which was too fast for her to see. Her weapon landed on the ground. Behind her was a explosion destroying the arena. For it's size, the attack was super effective. Her mind was running wild. If this little beam from him caused such damage, what was when he turned serious?

While she was still thinking, his presence was suddenly behind her. Before she even could use a muscle his hands were around her throat, pressing down hard.

Air was leaving her lungs, and she struggled for getting it back. Desperatley she clawed at his hands, but it was useless.

Right before the darkness could totally block her sight, he lifted her up, only to smash her facedown on the ground.

Lucy 's felt the pain in every fiber of her body. The force he used let her body create a crater under her, and she asked herself if any bone in her was not broken.

"Lucy!" the anxious shouts came from her friends. They barrier still kept them from reachig her.

"Hear that insects! Worried for scum like you! You're nothing than a wanna-be Himmelsjäger, who is broken inside, afraid of her own blood!" he declared in a maleficent voice.

He walked up to her and gripped her again around the throat, this time facing her.

"And angels wasted blood on you trash!" Tertius sneered.

Lucy knew it wouldn't be a smart move, but it was the only thing coming to her mind.

She spit the blood in her mouth into his face.

For a moment it was completley still. Lucy watched as a vein on the handsome face popped up, before she was thrown away, and painfully crashing down.

"You little wench!" Tertius screamed furiously.

She forced air in her lungs, while she was getting back on her knees. Her clothing on her back was ripped, and the skin scratched. She could hear the sharp intakes of her friends, and knew what the cause was. Black marks adorned her back, forming curled lines.

Gray knew what the markings ment. He knew because they once adorned his arm.

Laxus figured they signaled something bad, but also couldn't help himself but to find them pretty.

Overly exhausted, Lucy knew she had to act immeadiatly, or this would be her end. Concentrating, while pushing the taunting voice in her head down, she focused on the demonic part of her blood. Forcing some magic in it, she felt the exhaustion slightly falling from her, as well as the tingeling on her back which indicates that her marks grew.

Then she gathered magic in her lungs.

"Star Angel's Demon Rage!" she shouted, and released a massive golden magic beam, which sparkled like stars, from her mouth. It burst forward while ripping the earth apart and headed staright to Tertius. The beam was too wide for him to dodge, and it hit him head on, as well as the woman behind him.

Her friends felt the magical wall vanish. They left no time and ran to Lucy. When they reached her, they noticed that Lucy's magic was now visible, and it was huge. Laxus wondered why she should hide it. Also, was this all of her magic, or just the ammount she needed for this attack? When it was the latter, how big was her magic then?

The Lightning Dragon Slayer kneeled by her side and touched her shoulder to let her know he was by her side. Erza, Jellal and Natsu stood in front of her protectivley while Meredy and Juvia stood by her side. Gray kneeled down by her other side. Unnoticed by her, the ice mage examined her marks. The center of it was in the middle between her shoulder blades. From there it spread to her neck, as well as down along her spine. The black markings were similar to his own, but why was it on her back?

What also confused him was that her attack was different from his "Demon's Rage". First off was the untypical title. Second, there was not only the demonic aura he felt, but something good. He couldn't describe it properly, but it felt lightfully. He would asked her later about that.

The dust finally cleared and revealed a slightly bruised, but still standing fallen angel. The woman behind him was on her knees, panting.

"Looks like the little wench has some claws. But they won't help you! I will end this now!" Tertius shouted. He hold his hand up where black magic like a sluggish mass was gathering.

It build a dangerous aura and the mages were paralyzed by fear. Even Lucy had a hard time in pushing the fear down. She felt the grip on her shoulder tighten. The big hand of the blonde beside her would have been comfortable, if she didn't had a wall around her heart.

Tertius was about to attack, as suddenly a bright beam came from the sky and crashed down between them. All of them had to shield their eyes. The fallen dismissed his magic in shock.

As the light shone off, they could see a man standing there facing Tertius. He had a bright and calm aura, which felt like you were watching the stars in a piecefull night.

"Astrael.." Lucy whispered. The goup heard her and were baffled. This was Lucy's patrem?

The angel wore the same white suit, when Lucy first saw him.

"Tertius! Why are you attacking my little star!" Astrael said calmly, but very threathening.

The fallen smirked, but you could see he was slightly nervous.

"Astrael. It's been three hundred years since we last met, right?" he playfully said.

The angel in front of him didn't answer but stared at him unamused. Tertius knew he wasn't here for a catch-up.

"You see, your little abnormation there stands in the way of my plan. Besides that, something like her shouldn't exist in the first place!" he exclaimed engrossed.

Astrael glared at him, when he noticed the woman behind him. When he realized what she was, his rage increased.

"What do you do with Nocturna's daughter?" he asked.

Tertius smirked and Lucy was shocked. Was the woman like her?

"Oh, this little mutant is quite helpful. You should consider about getting your's a leash, too!" the fallen mocked.

"Nocturna will destroy you!" Astrael lost his calm. Tertius noticed, and decided it was enough. Play time was over.

"Remember my words! When Azurras light shines down, I will be the one bathing in it!" he declared. Then the woman behind him spread her cape, which suddenly growed in size. It covers both of them, before vanishing. The two were gone.

Astrael balled his fist. After a second calming down he turned to his daughter. He saw the group around her and was happy she was supported.

He walked to Lucy and kneeled down to face her. The angel noticed the blonde man beside her was tensing up. Could it be that he liked his daughter?

Regardeles, he hold the back of her head and looked in her brown eyes. He saw the admiration, as well as the gratitude shone in them. He smiled.

"Sleep, little star." he murmured while he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Lucy shut her eyes and slumped down in the arms of the blonde Dragon Slayer.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Special thanks for all the lovely reviews and for the follows and favorites!**

 **Like I said before english is not my native language, so if you see any mistakes please write a review or message me. Thanks!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	10. Chapter 9

**Surprise folks!**

 **So the good news are, here is the new chapter! The bad: Tomorrow I will go on a two weeks long vacation. I will stay at a house with no internet. So please bare with two weeks of no updates. To lighten up the mood I forced myself yesterday to type the next chapter, so that before I go you got at least another chapter.**

 **The background music for this chapter is "Miles to Go" from Stateless.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the mentioned song.**

* * *

" _Breath in and out." Astrael's melodic voice instructed me, while Lucy was sitting cross-legged with her hands connected. Her eyes were closed._

" _First, I want you to feel your surroundings." Lucy took a deep breath and focused._

 _On her face she could feel the soft breeze caressing her skin like a soft touch._

 _Under her legs she sensed the softness of the grass she was sitting on._

 _She heared how the wind got caught in the leaves of the willow she was sitting under and how it moved the grass all around her. It was only distrurbed by the breathing sounds her patrem made._

 _The garden of her temporary house in the spirit world was a pieceful place._

" _Good. Now push everything aside and only concentrate on yourself."_

 _As commanded Lucy shifted her attention to herself. Everything around her became still. She imagined herself into a void, with only her existing in it. Only feeling the blood pumping steadily in her veins, as well as hearing the breaths her lungs automaticaly took, she knew she was succesful._

" _Very good, little star. From now on we will focus on how you will enter your own mind, when meditaiting. You can open your eyes now." Her patrem praised her._

 _Slowly she opened her eyes and saw him sitting in front of her, in the same position. The two sat under the willow which provided shadows for the both. The sun was standing high in the sky, indicating it was midday. The few sun rays the leaves didn't filtered shone on Astrael's golden hair. They let the strands shone brightly and casted a glow around him, which she believed followed him around._

" _Are you hungry? Virgo made a soup for us." he said while smiling brightly. He gave off a comforting and calm aura, as always. He never lost his smile since he was training her. Lucy couldn't feel it, but she knew she held him dear in her heart, like all of her friends._

 _She nodded, and they stood up and made their way to the house. She was here for two weeks now, living with Astrael in the little cottage, her spirits gave her. It was located away from the palace the spirit king lived. The area was similar like Earthland, and if she wouldn't know she was in the spirit world, she would think she was back home in Magnolia._

 _Her spirits visted her daily. While everday someone else came over, Loke and Virgo were here the most._

 _The training until now only consisted of meditating. She knew it was necessary to get a control of her different blood, but one day she had to go back to Earthland and fight demons. Still she hadn't learned any fighting._

" _When we will get to the fighting part?" she asked him once they were inside the kitchen._

 _The inside of the cottage was mostly arranged with wooden furniture. Bright colors were dominant and in total it had and comfortable and lovely feeling._

" _Once you can control your demon blood." he explained while he put the pot with the soup on the stove._

" _Why only the demon blood? What is with the angel type?" Lucy sat herself down at the table._

 _Astrael finished putting the soup in bowls and set one in front of her, while he sat down, too._

" _Our blood can't cause any harm. It is only strengthen by positive feelings. The demonic one is powered by negative ones. While in the state you are now it doesn't matter in your heart and soul, the rest of your body still reacts with feelings. Anger or sadness will strenghten the dark blood, and your litlle demon gains control over you. You have to train to use it, because it strenghten you, but to not let it dominate you. You understand?" After he finished he continued with eating._

 _Lucy didn't say any more. She got it. The wall around her heart will hinder her from feeling anything, but her body still does. It was natural for the human body to react to feelings. In case you are afraid it produces adrenaline so you can wether run or fight._

 _The demon blood reacts to the negative types. Should her body react to anger or sadness, her dark blood will thicken and gain control, as well as the demon which nested herself in her mind._

"Thats right, Missy. So what are you waiting for? Just gave in, so you don't have to worry about anything."

 _Lucy, in the middle of bringing her bowl to the sink, let the porcelain slip from her finger. It landed with a loud crash and cracked in many parts._

 _This was the second time that taunting female voice in her head spoke._

 _She didn't notice she was kneeling down on the ground, when Astrael was crouched in front of her. He hold her cheeks, while the worry was clear in his eyes._

 _Slowly she heard what he said, but muted, as if she was underwater._

" _Lucy! Wake up! Wake up!"_

"Lucy, wake up!"

She opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that she was lying in a bed. Then her mind registered that she was in Kardon. _A dream? No, a flashback._ She thought.

She lift herself up so she was in a sitting position. She regocnized the room as her hotelroom. Beside her bed was a grumpy looking blonde man, who apparently was the one who woke her up.

"Finally you're awake. I was nearly afraid I had to shock you back to life." he darkly joked. But she could see the relief in his eyes.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked, while looking through the window. It was morning.

"You slept through the whole afternoon and night. But I had to wake you up. The others are in the next room discussing about what to do next. Apparently you have to leave the hotel today." Laxus explained.

"Right. I'll take a shower and change clothes. It won't take long." She stood up and went to the bathroom with a clean set of clothes. Laxus watched her, till she closed the door, then sighed.

Apparently Lucy was right, when she said the job wouldn't be any fun. Yesterday proved that. If the angel hadn't interfered they would be dust now. Laxus never felt such magic pressure before. Both, the golden haired dude and that other angel, were on an entire different level. He thought that even Gildarts would get a problem if he had to battle them.

Laxus winced as the picture of Lucy being brutally smashed into the ground appeared in his mind. It pained him to see her getting beaten, when he couldn't do anything. Talk about pathetic.

Frustrated he closed his eyes and leaned back. So far he was failing at his mission. Was all the training for nothing? The same guilt and fear rushed through his system as when he woke up at the infimary after the war with Tartaros. If he could, he would laugh about himself. Before Fantasia he thought he was the strongest. Arrogantly he dismissed everyone else weaker than him as pathetic. Thought he was undeaftable.

Karma was a rightfull bitch to him. Natsu, Hades and that demon taught him that he was a human like everyone else.

All of that was the reason he traveled to Tenrou Jima aiming to get stronger, so he woud be able to protect the most important thing to him. His family.

 _Grunting Laxus let himself fall on the ground. He could feel the sweat falling from his face and the path it took on his bare chest. Panting he lay there while trying to slow down his frantic heartbeat. The wind blowed over his figure, and offered him a soothing cooling for his heated skin._

 _He just finished his training for the day._

 _For three months he was now on the guild's sacred ground for improving. Everday he had worked on his magic abilities as well as his physical strength. Laxus already noticed changes which indicated his success, but it wasn't nearly enough to satisfie him._

 _Slowly he lifted himself back on his feet and began to walk back to his camp, which exists of a tent and a selfmade fireplace. He brought enough food for week when he arrived. Then he started hunting his meals. He bathed in the lakes or the waterfalls. The island provided him really with everything he needed._

 _Tired and hungry he didn't noticed a presence sitting on the log around the firepit._

" _How was training?" a melodic and feminine voice asked him._

" _Good, I …. Wait! Mavis?!" he stoped in his step, and looked at the first maser bewildered._

 _She just giggled and smiled. Laxus was confused. Since he arrived here, he never saw another living being. That Mavis appeared out of the blue surprised him, but at the same time not. After all the island was her home._

" _It's a pleasure to see one of the youngster's here!" she stood up. To hear that from a woman with the body of a little girl seemed unrealistic, but this was just her body. Her ghost was much older._

" _So, I heard of the disbanding, but why are you here, Laxus?" she asked, and the happy smile turned into a downcast expression._

" _I was too weak to protect my family. I have to train in order to protect what is dear to me." the answer came easy from his lips. It was the mantra he told himself everyday._

" _Well, I think all you need is to see what's in your heart. The strong bond of comrades will surpass everything." Mavis said softly._

 _Laxus remained silent. He thought about that statement. Instinctively he know she was right, but someday they would meet a challenge they couldn't beat. Only if he was strong enough._

 _Suddenly he realized what he thought. Tightly he gripped his hair. He still thought that power and strenght was more important than bonds. He hadn't changed at all._

 _Mavis could see the distress on the Dragon Slayer's face and intuitively knew what was running through his mind._

" _Don't let yourself down. You're heart is full with pure intentions. You want to protect your family. While of course you want to get stronger, you also have to trust you're heart. Love can do wonders, if you just let it happen." Mavis explained with an encouraging smile on her lips._

 _Laxus watched her. She believed so fully on what she said. Maybe he should start to believe as well._

" _Thanks, First. I lost myself for a minute." he smiled for the first time since his fight with the demon._

" _Great! But that wasn't the reason I wanted to talk to you." she giggled again, but pleased that she could convince him. Laxus rose an eyebrow. He was silently waiting for her to continue._

" _You see, my fairies went ahead on their journeys, but one of them seemed to lost her way. She was enduring a hard time, and while she is safe for now, I fear of what will happen in her future." Mavis began to tell him._

" _Who?" Laxus only asked._

" _Lucy."she answered with a frown._

 _Laxus gasped. Lucy? She endured a hard time? What does that mean?_

" _Right now she is in a state, which you can call numb. But I'm afraid someone is out there to harm her. In the state she is now, this could be very dangerous for her._

 _That's why I personaly give you the quest of protecting her." Mavis declared with an determined expression._

 _Again Laxus was baffeled. She wants what from him? Protecting Lucy?_

" _Why me? And how long should I do this?" he asked bewildered._

" _You are the only one I deem capable of the task. And you should do it until she can protect herself again." the first instructed._

" _And what is with my training? I can't just leave and..." he was interrupted._

" _This will be your training. Once you accomplish the quest, you will have gained more strenght than you could have recieved here." she said with unmoving eyes. Laxus knew that expression. Talking to him now was Mavis the tactician._

" _When do I start?" he asked, implying his agreement._

The sound of the water from the shower being stopped snapped Laxus out of his flashback.

He heard her shuffeling in the bathroom. She would be out any minute. His attention shifted to the living room, where the others were waiting for them. Only talking about uninterresting things, to distract them from the real problem, Laxus could feel the tension even in the next room. Everyone one of them had his own problem to think about.

Even he thought about what was do to next. Obviously he would accompany Lucy, wherever she went from here. Jellal and Meredy probably, too. Lucy's old team was the only unknown factor. The mission from the council they took, would force them to go back to Crocus. He had to admit he was nervous about their next steps. Would they sell Lucy out? He knew they loved her too much for that, but with an strict Erza, now a temporary agent, and the council's ways of getting what their want sometimes, he wasn't sure how they would act.

A sudden feeling flared in him up, similar to what he felt about his team, but way stronger. The need to protect Lucy. He wondered why he felt such things. She clearly wasn't in need of that with her new powers, but even if he reminded himself that, the feeling remained.

He just hoped Mavis was right and he would be strong enough for the upcoming challenges.

The door to the bathroom opened and Lucy entered the room with fresh, unripped clothing and wet hair. Now she wore a white tanktop, with black tight pants. Around her neck she wore a golden necklace, but the pendant was hidden under her top. On her hands were fingerless leather gloves and on her right wrist her golden bracelet.

Laxus looked up ther shoulder were she had been injured, to find her her skin bare and healed. There was no trace left of the cut the fallen inflicted.

"How does your shoulder healed that fast?" he asked bewildered.

"The angel blood grants a faster healing rate." was the short explaination, with a indifferent shrug of her shoulders.

"Sure comes in handy." he admitted while he stood up.

The two entered the living room. The group were settled on the couches around the coffe table. Gray and Juvia shared the smaller one and Jella and Erza the other, with Meredy sitting on the armrest. Natsu and Happy were sitting on the ground with pillows.

Laxus gathered two chairs from the dining table, for him and Lucy to sit.

Once everyone was settled Jellal was the first to break the silence.

"So, who was this person?" he asked Lucy.

"I've never met him before, but he is a fallen angel. Called himself Tertius." she answered.

"And that woman? Your patrem called her Nocturna's daughter." he further interrogated.

"The same. Never met her. But I had strange visions when I saw her, so maybe she is an angel, too." Lucy said, while holding her chin.

"Either way we have to gather more information about the two. He said he wants to kill me, and that I stand in his way. Also he mentioned to Astrael something about Azurra's light." the blonde woman crossed her arms.

"You two couldn't follow his scent?" Erza looked at the two Dragon Slayers.

"No. He smelled weird. And I mean a bad weird, but as soon as he dissapeared his scent was completely gone, like he vanished." Natsu growled. He hated the fact his nose could be fooled.

"Flame-tard is right. When the chick covered them both with her coat, both of their scents dissapeared. So I think the creepy piece of clothing is enchanted, or a magic tool." Laxus added in a grumpy voice. He, too, was not happy that his senses didn't work.

"So we don't have a clue where they are. This is bad." Gray concluded with a frown.

"But even when we encounter them again, he is insanley strong. If Lucy's angel hadn't stopped him, we would be dead by now. I even doubt that all of us together can take him." Jellal deadpanned with a serious voice.

Lucy stared at the ground, while she pushed the anger in herself down. If she only could balance her blood out, she might be strong enough to beat him. But as long as her soul was incomplete, she couldn't achieve that. But she also knew that in order to work on that she had to repair her soul, which she couldn't risk.

"Can't you just contact your patrem and ask him about the fallen?" Gray asked.

Lucy shook her head. "No. Himmelsjäger have to work on their own. Only in situations of great danger they speak to us, or appear to help." she explained.

The group was silent while all of them thought about a solution. Jellal wondered how much the fallen affected Lucy, and in which way she hindered his plan. Does that mean he has something to do with demons?

Laxus was balling his fist. The new enemy was way to powerful for him. How could he protect Lucy now? Mavis's words ran through his mind. But he didn't notice any change since he was here, so how could his bonds make him stronger?

Suddenly Erza hold her hand up.

"Maybe we don't have to fight him by brute force. If we find more information about him or his plans we discover a weak point. But where we can get such infos?" Erza mentioned, and thought about a place.

"The magic library!" Meredy shouted happily.

"That's right. The library possesses data about the world since the first day of history. This is the best chance." Jellal agreed. Everyone else nodded except Lucy.

"The library is in Fiore. While I agree on going there, we don't know where Tertius is. He could be still in Caelum. What if he want to fullfill his plan here?" the Demon Slayer argued.

"So the best way is to split up. Some of us will stay here, while the rest travels back to Fiore." Jellal suggested. Again they nodded.

"Ok, but who will go and who will stay?" Meredy asked.

"Lucy knows the most about the angels. She will go, because she can differ between usefull and unhelpfull information. Laxus obviously travels, too. Natsu and Erza I want that you go with Lucy. Gray and Juvia will stay here with Meredy and I." Jellal declared.

"What?! Why should Gray stay here?" Natsu asked. Meanwhile Juvia was happy that she could stay with her Gray-sama.

"Tertius could have something to do with demons. While we don't know where the other Himmelsjägers are or who they are, I think is best that another Demon Slayer remains here, for the case that demons appear." the blue haired man said, so the others could understand.

Erza agreed, but couldn't help to feel hurt. Why wanted Jellal that she seperates from him?

"Is that a good idea? If I travel back the council will most likely contact me." Erza argumented and tried hard not to let her feelings shone trough.

"Exactly that's why. If they demand your report you tell them that you could not find her. Because you found a clue that the "mysterious woman" moved back to Fiore, your team splitted up. Gray and Juvia continue to search her, while you and Natsu follow the clue." Jellal created their cover-story. Erza crossed her arms. She understood the reasoning, but that didn't mean she was happy with it.

"But what will they say when they see the "woman" with us?" Natsu made quotation marks with his hand as he looked at Lucy.

"I will no longer wear any disguise. Besides, I can hide my magic away. They will not find any similarities, as long as I don't destroy any demons or dark guilds. If any demons show up while I am researching, I can use Geminis power to disguise myself, or let him appear as myself somewhere plain visible. That should keep the counsil off my track." the blonde woman arranged her tactic.

"But how do you know a demon showed up?" Laxus was the one who asked. Once again he was amazed. Lucy came off with a stragety in seconds, which indicates her intelligence, and cleverness.

"When I was in the spirit world a few spirits offered a contract to me. One of them was Aquila, the eagle. He is a silver gate key with the speciality on surveillance. He can observe wide areas from the sky and deliver exact details on anything within it. If I give specific targets, he can cover the continent in one day." she answered. Laxus, Erza, Gray and Juvia were impressed, while Natsu thought the spirit was boring because of the unability to combat.

"So the eagle will inform you when he sees a demon?" Jellal asked. Lucy nodded.

"If I may ask, but where are you keys?" Gray asked, after he saw the lack of keys at her hips. If he remembered correctly, he hadn't saw them on her other outfit either.

Lucy tensed up a little. Only Laxus and Natsu saw it, but Gray could feel a tiny flicker of her magic flare up, before it vanished.

"I thaught myself re-quip magic. While it isn't in the dimension Erza can use it, it is enough to store my keys safely." While she explained the blonde looked at the ground. She didn't show any emotions, but all of her friends could see, that this matter affected her somehow.

"Why don't you bring them out to fight, anymore?" Natsu asked. Laxus glared at the Fire Dragon Slayer for his insensitive question.

Lucy was still for a minute. Her head sank even lower and her bangs covered her eyes. All these questions about her spirits were creating sadness and pain. The both feelings pushed heavily on her mind wall and it took a great effort to steel her wall. Nothing caused such reaction since she left the spirit world. The loss of Aquarius was one of the worst tragedies she had to encounter. Astrael warned her that the unresolved scars in her could be one of the things which could bring her "cor obice" down. She took a deep breath. After she was sure she got it under control, she answered.

"I don't let them fight my battles anymore. I am strong enough on my own, so I don't risk them to get hurt."

After this statement it was silent again. Jellal and Meredy knew what exactly triggered that decision. While they understood it, they weren't happy with it. Lucy only delayed to deal with this emotional scar, but they couldn't do anything against it, because of the threat that her mind wall will shatter once she did. Erza and Gray wanted to ask her why she thought so, but they noticed that the matter was affecting her, so they remained silent. Laxus wondered about the reason Lucy din't use her spirits anymore. He remembered how Mira told him about the war with Tartaros, while he and his team was out. She said they were somehow trapped inside the gigantic cube, when they suddenly were released. She had heard that Gajeel mentioned that Lucy had saved them. Laxus didn't know why but he believed this could somehow be related to the issue.

"Well, I think we have a plan." Jellal finished the discussion.

* * *

The ship was steadily sealing through the ocean, which was tinted the same dark color the night sky was. The strong wind of the sea pushed the sails, and with it the ship, forward. Beside the sound of creaking wood and soft waves crashing against the ship, it was silent.

Lucy appreciated the silence after the long discussion. She came out on the deck to meditate while the rest of her team was sleeping. But after half an hour she had to accept, that her jambled thoughts wouldn't let her.

She gave up her meditation pose and layed down flat on her back.

How can she save the world, when she even can't save herself? Her new enemy was on an entirely different level. After all her hard training and all the efford to save her soul for 18 months. Anger and frustration weighed themselves on her wall, but she could handle it. More important was now to get stronger, so she had a chance against the fallen.

" _Without me you won't stand a chance."_

The whisper of the demon slightered through her mind like a snake. Over the time she learned to ignore her demon blood, but she noticed how it appeared more frequently since she came in contact with her friends again. Not only that, but with their arrival her emotions gained strenght. It took more effort to push them back down. Lucy knew it was a bad idea to let them come with her, but like Laxus said, there was no point in running away. If she didn't learn to handle her feelings, how could she believe she was strong enough against demons or fallen angels? Maybe this was a opportunity to get stronger.

While she thought about how difficult it could get to maintain perfect control of her feeling, the horizon light up with the sun, announcing a new day.

This was just the beginning.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review!**

 **And of course I like to thank all the awesome people who left a review or hit the follow/ favorite button.**

 **Till next time (sadly in two weeks),**

 **Kitty**


	11. Chapter 10

**I'm back! (Finally)**

 **So after two weeks of vacation, I came back with a lot of ideas and new motivation for this story.**

 **Music inspiration: New Divide - Linkin Park**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the mentioned song.**

* * *

"We brought the fish!" Happy announced happily while he hold a basket full of salmons Natsu and him caught in the near river.

"Great, meanwile we set up the camp." Erza said as she put down a log in front of the fireplace.

Once they had arrived on the shore of their homeland the four mages and Exceed were traveling on foot. The sun was right before vanishing in the horizon, and it was decided to take a break and camp in the wild to save money. Laxus, Lucy and Erza had set up the camp with the tents, as Natsu and Happy had got the task to find something edible. Of course they settled with fish.

Laxus laid down the wood for the fireplace. "Good. Natsu make some fire so we can grill the fishes." he instructed with a gruff. The Slayer was hungry and the longer he had to wait the more his mood would dampened.

Natsu spit without a word a tiny flame on the pile, which immediately light up the wood. Erza meanwhile prepared the fish while threatening Happy to put the stolen fish back.

When everyone was finished and eating on their fish, it was silent. Laxus enjoyed the silence. He was not the type who talks much, even with his team. Lucy didn't felt the silence as uncomfortable, so she kept still. Natsu had his full concentration on his meal and happily stuffed his face, not even noticing the others. Erza was the only one in the group who find the silence to be uncomfortable. The red head wanted to talk with her friends like the old times, but she didn't found any theme or question she could bring up. This made her feel hurt. Back in the old days she could talk to them easily, she said straight what was on her mind. She realized the gap between them the one and a half year created was even greater then she feared.

Erza and Lucy stopped eating after their second fish, while the males continued. The Slayers were known for their big appetite. Laxus turned to Lucy while holding up another grilled salmon. "Want another one?" he asked, but she shook her head.

"No, thanks." she politley denied, as she was taught by her mother.

"Better you don't eat it, you're already fat!" Happy snickered while he insulted her.

Laxus glared at the blue Exceed and even Natsu wasn't sure this was the right time to mock Lucy. Normally he did it, too, because he loved her reaction, and her angry red face, but with her condition he wasn't sure on how she would take the joke.

"I eat what I need to maintain my strength. Today I didn't exercised much, so more than two fishes would be unneccessary." Lucy explained with a expressionless face and a emotionless voice. Natsu and Happy looked at her startled. This was more than shocking. Her reaction was the exact opposite from what the two expected and knew. Happy was annoyed his joke didn't affected her, while Natsu was dissapointed. He felt like he didn't know his best friend anymore.

* * *

The next morning Natsu woke to the sounds of talking voices. Slowly opening his eyes he saw his partner and Exceed curled up beside him. The sun didn't reach the horizon yet, but would in the next hour. Registering to what he woke up, he rised his head and looked around.

Standing there was Lucy and Laxus, talking.

"You're going for a jog?" the Dragon Slayer asked the woman.

"Yes. Would you like to come along?" she asked him. He nodded, still somewhat tired. Apparently he must have woken up to Lucy getting up. The two started to steadily jog, leaving the camp and vanished between the trees of the forest.

Natsu grumbled, while he laid his head back down. He didn't like the closeness the two blondes had. While he tried to convince himself that it irked him only because he wanted to protect his blonde teammate, he couldn't shook the feeling of jealously. He wanted his best friend back. If he only brought her with her, back then. But immediately he felt guilty. What was he expecting? He left her alone, and was the reason she nearly died. Giving up on sleep Natsu laid there silently, while he thought about a scenario where he and Lucy would have trained together.

After an hour his thoughts were interrupted with the two blondes who came back. Slightly panting they reached the logs and set down while drinking some water.

"I have to say, Blondie, your stamina gotten a lot better." Laxus complimented her smirking.

"Thanks. But yours is still better." she argued, but still acknowledged the praise.

Natsu balled his fist, before he sprang up. He couldn't longer bear to hear them talk like they were friends.

"Laxus fight me!" he shouted while marching up to the two. Startled the two turned to him. Laxus was mad his conversation with Lucy was disturbed and glared at the pink haired man. He was angry enough to gave in to his wish and ground his head in the ground. He stood up and was about to bring his fist up, but Lucy stopped him by stepping in front of him.

"Natsu, instead of fighting Laxus, you should fight me." she declared. Natsu stopped his approach altogether, and like Laxus stared at her surprised.

"What?" he asked openly confused. She never fought for fun. Every time a brawl broke out in the guild she avoided it, and hid behind the bar to be out of the danger zone.

"You fought Laxus already. So in order to learn more you should find a new opponent. We never combated, so let's do it." she announced like she was talking about the weather.

Natsu thought about it. He didn't want to hurt Lucy, but he was still somewhat furious. Also this was the opportunity to get closer to her. So he nodded. "Ok."

The two went to a open area near the camp, where there was more space for them to move, without stumbling over a sleeping Erza.

"Ok, we fight without magic. Only hand to hand combat." Lucy set the rules. Natsu agreed, because like this he couldn't hurt her with his flames.

The faced each other and got into a battle stance. Laxus leaned against a tree a few meters away from them. He was curious on how the battle would end. Lucy got stronger, but Natsu fought with his fists all the time. Because he was still annoyed with the flame idiot, he hoped Lucy would leave a couple of bruises on him.

Natsu looked nervously at her. She was showing no emotion. Then she moved and prepared a punch with his face as the aim. He could dodge, but saw her already move her leg to kick him.

The next minutes Natsu only dodged or blocked Lucy's punches and kicks, without attempting to fight back. Her speed was good, but nothing he couldn't handle. He could easily land a hit, but it was like his entire being was restraining him from doing so. It wasn't because he don't like to hit girls, but he was averse to hurt his best friend. Gray and Erza were another thing. Gray was his frenemie and Erza, well he believed the red haired sometimes didn't even feel pain.

Distracted by his thoughts, he didn't notice Lucys leg. Instead he felt it, as it kicked him in his guts. Natsu stumbled a few steps back. Lucy waited for him to get his stance back.

"You're not fighting back." she stated. Natsu didn't know what she meant or wanted to say with that. But he figured she wanted him to actually take part in that combat. He gritted his theeth. Gulping he swalloed his issues, and lifted his fists. Relucantly he move forward and aimed to punch her.

This time it was Lucy who blocked or dodged. After a minute she got aware that Natsu wasn't moving with his normal force or speed. She knew he didn't want to hurt her, but in order to get better, they had to really give it all. So to take his angst away she stopped moving. Natsu saw it but it was too late. His fist landed on her belly.

Lucy just moved one foot back. The punch didn't really hurt and she encountered worse. Natsu was frozen in shock. He really hit his best friend.

"L-Lucy... I-I am so sorry!" he stuttered. When he apologized, Lucy knew she couldn't bring him to really fight her.

On the edge of the clearing, Laxus gritted his teeth. He knew the punch didn't hurt her too much, but it still felt absolutley wrong to see the blonde woman to get hurt.

"This is pointless. You don't take this seriously." Lucy said, while she started to walk back to the camp. As she reached Laxus, he too, walked back but not before he glared a last time at Natsu.

Natsu sank to the ground on his knees. Her words hurt him, but not for the words themselves but for the meaning they had for their friendship. He failed in getting their relationship back on track.

Frustrated he puched the ground. He would find a way to get closer to her. This he promised himself.

* * *

"You're alright, Natsu?" Erza asked her teammate. The group were back on the road, wandering in a steady pace through the wood. Lucy and Laxus walked in the front while Erza and Natsu followed them with a three meter gap. Happy was floating in the sky, checking out the area.

"Couldn't be better." the Fire Dragon Slayer answered sarcastically. Erza noticed how Natsu barely talked since they had breakfast and packed everything up. This was not normal for the hyperactive and cheerful boy, so she was curious where the sudden bad mood was coming from.

"Natsu, you know I can only help you if we talk about it." she reminded him in a stern, but also encouraging way. Natsu looked at the red haired woman while he thought about her offer. The two knew each other long enough to know when someone had problems. He tried to hide his sour mood, but Erza was always observant, if she was not distracted by a cake.

Would it help to talk about Lucy's and his strained friendship? Erza had not the best social skills, and sometimes a naive and ignorant view on things. But he noticed how she struggled the evening before. She also had problems to reconnect with Lucy. Maybe if they both talk about it, they would find a solution together. Or it would end up in a big mess like usual if a Fairy Tail mage was involved. This way or another he had to take a risk.

"I feel like Lucy and I are not friends anymore. Of course she behaves differently with her emotionless state, and I did left her for over a year, but it saddened me. I don't want to loose my best friend. I feel overly guilty for what my absences caused, but I think we can help her more if we are best friend like we were before." he spoke silently with a downcast expression, while watching the ground. He knew Laxus and maybe even Lucy could hear him, therefore he spoke as silent as possible, while slowing down to widen the distance between them.

Erza watched him. He saw the sadness and guilt clearly written on his face. She felt the same. While she blamed herself for Lucy's condition, she was also determined to try everything in her power to help her. Even if she would have to cancel her job at the council or being sentenced for perverting the course of justice, she would do it gladly for the sake of her best friend and littler sister.

"I feel the same. But I think together we can find an answer." she said to him with a small smile.

The Dragon Slayer felt encouraged by her words. In the end he could always count on Erza to solve the mess. Together they can bring their nakama and their friendship back.

* * *

Later at the evening they stopped for their second night in the wild. Everybody agreed on staying close to the forest, to avoid being spotted to easily. Tents and fireplace already set up, Erza prepared the deer she shot earlier that day. Natsu and Happy were gathering water at the nearby river, while Laxus and Lucy brought back the berries they found.

Lucy and Laxus sat down on a log. Erza was cutting the flesh and put it on sticks to place them over the fire while she thought about how she could break the silence.

Suddenly the mages heard the screech of a bird and flapping of wings. Laxus and Erza searched the sky, as a eagle, slightly larger than a normal one, broke through the branches of the trees. When the bird flew straight towards them, the two S-class mages prepared for a fight, but were stopped by Lucy.

"That's aquila. My spirit." she announced. And indeed the huge bird slowed down in front of her, flapped his wings a few times before gently landing on her shoulder. The eagle had shiny feathers, with a slight golden glow. He observed his surroundings before looking Lucy straight in the eye.

Laxus and Erza watched interested, but also slightly confused, as Lucy's eye color changed to yellow. It was absolute still for a moment, beside the typical sounds of the forest. Then the eagle vanished back to the spirit world with a golden light. Lucy's eyes returned to their brown.

"Aquila saw no demon entering our realm. But he saw a group of people heading towards us. They will be here in ten minutes." she repeated what her spirit showed her.

"A group of people? Could they be just travelers, or bandits?" Erza thought out loud.

"Doesn't matter. It's best if no one sees us." Laxus said. The females nodded before Erza hold her hand up.

"But what is with Natsu?" she asked. Laxus took a breath through his nose while closing his eyes.

"He is over a kilometer away. He won't hear it if I'd call him back. We just have to hope he doesn't come back till the people passed us." he grunted, unamused about the situation. Then he started packing his things, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Confused he looked up to find Lucy as the owner.

"Wait. Let everything the way it is. I have an idea." she said to him.

* * *

"Hurry up, Natsu! I'm hungry!" Happy urged his partner. He was already finished, and waited for the Fire Dragon Slayer to fill his last bottle up.

Natsu grumbled something, when he put the cap back on his bottle and turned to the blue Exceed.

"Alright, we can go back." he declared and shouldered the bag with the bottles.

The two wandered in silence through the forest. Because the two didn't needed any words to understand each other it was a comfortable silence.

Suddenly Natsu stopped and began sniffing the air.

"What's up, Natsu?" Happy asked, as he saw his partner didn't walk anymore.

"I smell strange people by our camp! Hurry! Lucy could be in danger!" With that Natsu burst forward in the direction of the camp, and left Happy back.

"Wait! Lucy got Laxus and Erza!" but the Exceed knew the words didn't reach his friend.

Meanwhile a group of people entered the camp. The five men were indeed bandits, who searched the forest for any valuables and victims. Once they saw the light of a camp, they thought they got another traveler they could rob.

When they saw a lonely woman sitting before the fireplace, they nearly had to laugh. _What an easy prey!_ They thought. The woman was pretty with long brunette hair, and green eyes. She wore a blue blouse and brown pants, who were tucked in black boots. The woman looked startled at the intruder.

"Well, hello there gorgeous! I don't want to harm you, so just give us all your money and we don't hurt you." one of the man, probably their leader, instructed the woman.

"Those pathetic little wimps." Laxus growled quietly. "Shh." Erza warned him. The three mages were crouched up in a tree, which stood near the camp and was behind the group.

"They really think that woman is real. Good plan, Lucy." the read head praised the blonde woman beside her. She had to admit Lucy was really smart. To bring out Gemini and use him as a distraction was a great plan. Erza was getting ready to summon swords, who would knock the men unconscious, as suddenly Natsu burst out from the bushes and charged at the men. "Dammit." Laxus growled again, and Erza mentally agreed. That idiot.

"A mage!" the men screamed. They were about to turn around and flee, but Erza's sword did their jobs, and hit the bandits in their neck. Like flies they drop to the ground unmoving. Natsu stared confused at the swords, and turned to the woman he just noticed at the moment.

"Who are you?!" he growled threatening. The brunette in front of him smelled like Lucy, but not entirely. Laxus jumped from the tree and was in two steps behind Natsu. He hit him hard on the head.

"You total moron!" the blonde man shouted at him. Natsu turned around, understanding nothing. "What?!" he screamed right back. He saw that the brunette, puffed up in smoke and transformed into Gemini. Then the spirit vanished.

"Ohhh." Natsu mumbled. But he was still confused about what exactly was happening. He looked around and saw Erza tying up the five man, while Lucy emerged from the tree.

"Luce!" he exclaimed relived, the blonde was ok. Lucy looked at him indifferent.

"You overreacted, Natsu." she said to him. He felt a stab in his heart.

"That's a nice way to say he messed it up." Laxus barked, still mad at the pink head.

"Ok, can somebody please explain what I even messed up?" he shouted, now angry at Laxus's words.

"We planned on distracting the bandits with Gemini while knocking them out, so they don't see us." Erza explained, also not happy how the situation turned out. Natsu finally understood. "Ohhh." he said bashfully.

"Right. Oh. You don't just risked to get somebody hurt without reasons, you also showed them your face. If you just could use your brain for once before you act!" Laxus blustered him furiously. The Lightning Dragon Slayer was mad because of the consequences this could have for Lucy. Should the council find out she was the wanted person, they had another storm coming for them. He won't risk any chances.

Natsu meanwhile was ashamed of himself. How he always messed everything up? He just wanted to get his best friend back, and protect her of any harm. Looks like he did a crappy job. How he could ever redeem himself like that? He had to learn to think first, then attack.

"Natsu, just bring the man to the river and untie them there. They should be out for another hour. meanwhile we pack our things and get going. There is a town three hours from here, there we can rest." Erza said. Natsu gathered the bodies without a word, and did his task.

Erza pinched her nose. At this rate, they would never be a help for Lucy and find a way to save her.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **I'm happy that I could type a new chapter while I'm still not over yesterdays episode. I read the manga but nothing prepared me for this tragic scene to be animated. Those feels!**

 **As always I like to thank all the people who put up with my story and even left a review or hit the follow/favorite button! I still can't believe that my writing is read and liked by so many people!**

 **Thank you so much!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey!**

 **After a few busy days I can finally update my story. It's good to be back.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

After three awkward days of silent traveling, the group finally arrived at the magic library. The four plus the Exceed stood in front of it and gazed at the tower, which peek vanished in the clouds.

"I hope we didn't demolish important books at our last visits." Erza mumbled to herself. The encounter with those three mans in black suits was still a livid and unpleasant memory. A shudder went over her back as she remembered the more than disgusting smell.

Lucy thought back to the incident as her spirits went crazy because of the eclipse-gate. Back then she was so depressed and frustrated that she had to fought her own friends. But now it seemed as this whole dilemma was ten years ago. So much happened since then.

The group entered the giant library through the round door and were again mesmerized at the sheer mass of books. Old Lucy would have squealed at the sight and would have read books until someone had to drag her out. But the Lucy right now didn't have such a desire, she just wanted to find the needed information.

"Let's split up, so we'll cover more ground. Erza, Natsu and Happy, you search through the first floor, while Laxus and I will start at the highest floor. We will meet in the middle." Lucy instructed. The others nodded, they had the same thought.

Laxus took Lucy's hand and lightning teleported them up. Natsu and Erza watched them, then turned around to decide where to start.

Natsu went to the right, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to Erza with a confused expression. The red haired woman looked determined.

"We won't only research about that fallen." she said mysteriously.

* * *

Laxus sighed as took the fifteenth book from the shelf. Lucy and him were here for two hours. He walked to the blonde which sat cross-legged on the ground and was reading, and put the book on the stack beside her. Bored, he sat down in front of her and crossed his arms.

The blonde Dragon Slayer was bored as hell by the task. He knew it was necessary, but that didn't help his mood. Normally he liked to read. Good novels and crime thriller filled his bookshelf at his home, and he found nothing more relaxing than to read in front of his chimney when it was raining outside. But those nonfiction books about history, plainly written for information, were boring to read and sometimes caused him headaches because they were filled with too many technical terms.

So while he took a pause to get rid of the slight pain in his head, he watched his blonde companion. Lucy was fully concentrated on the scroll she hold in her hand. The gale-reading-glasses on her nose glowed mildly and illuminated her big brown eyes. Altogether her face seemed angelic in that light, and Laxus was mesmerized. He didn't know if her different blood type caused this, but he quickly throw that theory overboard. Lucy was pretty in every light. Her golden hair and soft skin, which invited to touch it, her sinful curvacious body he wanted to press into his chest, and her enticing brown eyes in which he could loose himself. She was more than attractive to him, and he didn't even try to deny it. And this was just the shell. Inside she was more than beautiful to him. The only thing was that it was locked away.

He saw that Lucy stood up and went to the shelf to gather another scroll. The problem was, that it was out of her reach. He snickered at the sight and stood up to help her when he got an idea which let him smirk.

Laxus stepped right behind her, and was slightly leaning his body on her back. He had to control his urges as her alluring smell hit his nose full on. As his heart beat sped up, he made sure to breath on her free neck, while he reached for the scroll.

Lucy had to force back the surprise and excitement as Laxus's taller body nearly covered all of hers. While she handled the feelings, her body instinctively reacted to his by heating up. Her heart did somersaults and the reaction of her body made it harder to control her feelings. Her thoughts were also running on high speed. Why Laxus did this? Was he interested in her? The old Lucy would felt flattered and definitely would respond to the attractive Slayer, but the new Lucy couldn't. She would have to suppress any attempts from Laxus, because he only would get hurt in the end. She couldn't love him back, and it would be unfair for him to lead him on.

Before she could push him away, he stepped back and held the scroll in front of her so she could take it. Laxus searched her face for any hint of emotions. While it was the expressionless mimic he got used to, there was a slight hint of redness on her cheeks. He grinned like a chesire cat. So her body somewhat reacted to her. He was still not satisfied but happy to finally get somewhere.

Lucy meanwhile dismissed the incident in her thoughts and shifted her attention back to the research. Opening the scroll, she scanned the text.

Suddenly she sprang to her feet and startled Laxus with the sudden movement. He watched her confused as she pulled out another book from the pile and hastily flip through it. Before he could ask she spoke.

"There. _...Tertius the third of the three sons of Throne, one of the first triad. He was partaking in the first wave of angels who were sent to earth to help the humankind by slaying demons. He was known for his strong will and strong powers he inherited from his father. When the fourth and last wave fought against the resuming demons army, one of his brother fell in the battle. Filled with anguish and sadness he went against his own kind and blamed humans for the death of his brother. He began to despise the humans and saw himself as superior. He refused to help them anymore, and turned arrogant. The great father saw his behavior and banned him from his realm. Since then he was fallen, and caused chaos on the earth..."_

"So he is an arrogant prick, who thinks he is better than everybody on this planet. Great." Laxus resumed while scoffing. He kew great sadness could cause to change one's personality, often into something worst, but to blame someone who has nothing to do with the tragedy was stupid.

"Yes, but let's read further. _…His level of strength was impressive, and could easily be compared to his father which was one of the strongest. He is using angel magic with the affinity of producing and controlling mass…"_ Lucy continued.

"What's that supposed to mean? Producing and controlling mass? What kind of mass?" Laxus mused while rubbing his chin with force. He hated when he didn't get clear results.

"The last sentence said that due to his banishment he was stripped of half of his powers. But what I saw in the arena was still impressive and I don't know if I can beat him." Lucy closed the book with a snap. Laxus frowned. It was good the douchebag only had half of his power, but even he had to admit that none of them could possibly take him. He was angry that he still was too weak. And he knew if Lucy felt anything she would also felt weak.

Laxus was startled again when Lucy suddenly hurried to the balcony and stared down.

He also stood up and went to her side. "What's the matter?" he asked her while tensing up.

"We have a visitor." she said without looking at him.

* * *

"This is boring. And I'm hungry. Can't we stop to eat?" Natsu asked whiningly as he slumped down on the ground between huge book piles. Erza just ignored him while she scanned another shelf filled with old, dusty books. Natsu was whining the whole time, so she chose to punch him, but after that didn't help she just settled with ignoring him.

"What are you even searching? We are in the wrong section." he growled. When Natsu was hungry his mood dampened.

"Like I said before, We.. or better I am searching for a spell or ritual or anything of that sort which can help Lucy to fix her soul!" she suppressed the urge to strangle the pink haired man.

"Oh, right." Natsu remembered. They want to help Lucy.

"So just take all the books about the topic and I read them." Erza instructed with a twitching eyebrow. Even while Natsu matured a little over the year they didn't saw each other, he still was ignorant for everything beside fighting and food. The Dragon Slayer nodded, and browsed through a different shelf.

They searched and read silently for a while, getting frustrated with every book, which didn't give any useful information. But Erza's steely determination and Natsu's hard headiness would't let them stop.

After another half hour, Erza finally found something.

"Here! _"Healing the soul and other spells"_!" she exclaims proudly, and satisfied to finally getting information.

But before she could open the book she was disturbed with the pained grunt of her comrade. Confused she looked to him and saw him laying down and his head bashed into the floor. But she saw no attacker.

"What the…" Erza was not able to end her sentence as she was pushed in her gut, with what felt like a kick. A strong one. Landing on the ground she know she would have bruises adorning her belly. Focusing again, she saw no one besides Natsu, who was also slowly getting on his feet back.

"What the heck?! Who was that?!" he asked growling. Erza scanned her surroundings and could feel a magical presence. Confusing was, that it was weak. But to be invisible the attacker must be using more magic. Frustrated that she could't come up with an answer, she looked around. Her view locked on the book, which contained the needed information. She had to make sure it was safe.

Natsu sprang on his feet and punched with flaming fist into the air, hoping the would catch the wrench. "Where are you?!" he shouted angrily. Erza meanwhile closed her right eye so only the artificial one was seeing. But also with that trick she couldn't see anyone. She clenched her teeth.

The fire Dragon Slayer was trying his luck with his nose. He indeed could smell another sent besides Erza's and his own, but it was weak and all over the place. He couldn't exactly pinpoint where the person was.

Annoyed with the situation Erza stood up and equipped her Heavens Wheel Armor.

"Watch out!" she warned Natsu, and summoned a ring of swords around her, before she let them loose. Natsu had a hard time dodging, while the swords flew through the air. Erza noted that no sword stuck midair meaning, they didn't hit the invisible person.

"Dammit." she muttered. Changing tactics she switched her armor to the Flame Impress Armor. She rushed to the book on the ground, luckily not stabbed by a sword, before she spoke to Natsu: "Natsu! Spread your flames through the whole room!"

The pink haired man agreed with a smile, and gathered air in his lungs before he released the Roar of the Fire Dragon. He swirled around, burning everything in his path. Erza was protected by her armor, and before Natsu's flame could hit the book she grabbed it and stored it away with her requip-magic.

Natsu was nearly finishing his circle, when he was punched from above what caused his flames to stop, and his head to hit the ground hart. Again.

Good for him he had such a hard head or he would be unconscious by now. As Erza growled frustrated even Natsu saw that fighting was pointless. Apparently their enemy was good at dodging.

Erza was about to requip into another armor, when lightning struck the ground between her and Natsu. Lucy and Laxus arrived.

"What's going on?! I can't see any enemy!" Laxus shouted confused.

"He's invisible!" Natsu answered angrily.

"I beg to differ. I'm a woman." said a mocking voice. Laxus and Natsu looked around confused. Even with their better hearing sense they couldn't pinpoint where that voice came from. Lucy scanned her surroundings, like the others, when her vision fixated on something.

"You. You are the woman who was with Tertius." Lucy stated. She could see the woman. Her outline was blurred and Lucy could see slightly through her, but she could see her. Her friends stared at her surprised while she observed the female. The woman wore the same outfit as she saw her the first time. But now her coat was shining in a dark blue. Lucy remembered that Astrael had called her Nocturna's daughter. That didn't give any clue to the identity, because she didn't know Nocturna, but it did mean that her patrem knew her. Lucy's vision was shortly disturbed with images of the night sky, before they vanished. Before she could ponder over the strange pictures she received every time she looked at her, the woman began to smile sickly.

"As expected of Astrael's little pet, you actual see me. Your friends aren't so lucky." The black haired taunted.

"Who are you?" Lucy wasn't affected by the cruel words.

"My name? I am called Nyx. And by now you should have noticed, that were quite the same." Nyx sneered.

"Himmelsjäger." Lucy was near to figuring that out, but the realization brought feelings of surprise, which clashed on her cor obice . Nyx smile widened. Her friends around her gasped. Laxus was worried how the fact that another one of Lucy's kind was here, as well as their enemy, was affecting Lucy. He observed her figure, but saw no emotion on her face.

Erza and Natsu were speechless. That invisible woman was a Demon Slayer like Lucy? And not only that but they had to fight her. The red-haired woman was wondering why a Himmelsjäger was fighting for a maniac fallen, who saw their kind as nothing more than insects. Lucy must had the same question, because she asked.

"Why are you fighting for Tertius?" Nyx's smile changed to an angry scowl.

"That's my business, but we share the same goal. Wipe the earth clean from those humans." Nyx growled.

"Laxus, take Erza and Natsu and get out of here." Lucy instructed the Lightning Dragon Slayer without letting Nyx out of her sight.

"What?! No! I don't leave you behind!" he clenched his teeth. Erza and Natsu were about to argue, too, but Lucy interrupted them.

"I'm the only one who can see her. Besides that's between me and her." she said, and let them no time to answer as she rushed forward and kicked the surprised female, who flew through the next wall with a loud crash. Lucy followed.

Laxus stared at the wall, where they both vanished, before he shook his head. She was right. He didn't like it but they had no chance in a battle with an enemy none of them could see. With an growl he took the arms of his comrades and gathered his magic.

"Better make it out alive, Blondie."

* * *

 **Hope you liked it!**

 **Like always, a big fat THANK YOU for all the amazing people who put up with my story!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	13. Chapter 12

**Hello folks!**

 **Sorry for the longer pause since the last chapter, but college started and I had to concentrate on getting a good start. Well, here is the new chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Musical Inspiration: Kill wa Ill from the Kill La Kill Soundtrack.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the mentioned song.**

* * *

Lucy and Nyx faced each other while standing completely still in a battle stance.

The blonde observers her opponent carefully. The cape she wore stopped glowing and her figure was visible again. Her magic was barely there meaning she maybe concealed it exactly like herself. Her aura itself was dark. It was like the night itself, no pun intended. But still Lucy didn't know a thing about that woman.

Even beside her fighting techniques, strategy or magic her background was unknown. When did she become a Himmelsjäger? Was she trained by her patrem? And why she wants to kill all humans?

"You're the Himmelsjäger of the night." Lucy stated. Instead of asking her the question directly, she took another approach. She assumed that the woman wasn't the type of giving her intention and plan as well as her backstory right away.

"What gave it away? My name, or the name of my patrem?" she asked sarcastically. Lucy ignored her taunting and continued.

"The Night Demon Slayer. Magic similar to Shadow magic." the blonde spoke while intensively watching the reactions of her enemy.

Nyx just glared at her, unamused by the conversation and the fact that she didn't know where Lucy was heading with this. Annoyed, she decided it was enough for the talk and sped forward. Lucy saw the movement fast enough and also began to move.

The two met in the middle with both of their fists striking the other. For a moment it was still, before the whole ground under them broke and the walls around them started to crumble because of the mighty pressure the colliding attacks had.

Both of them knew this was just testing the waters.

Moving as the first one Lucy kicked Nyx in the gut. A massive dent in the wall behind her appeared.

Nyx recovered fast and punched Lucy on the exact same spot. Another huge crater in the wall.

From just this two attacks they both could gather that Nyx preferred to fight with her arms, while Lucy attacked primarily with her legs in hand to hand combat. The two opponents jumped apart. Now it was time for the big guns.

Each one of them gathered air in their lungs and focused their magic.

"Star Angel's…"

"Night Angel's…"

"…Demon Rage!" both chanted and released their magic through their mouth. Lucy's golden beam collided with a similar black beam with purple edges. The power was well outmatched, which forced the energy to give away to the sides, once more damaging the walls. After the light from the magic vanished they stared at each other again.

"Not bad for a half-baked Slayer like you." Nyx admitted, but smiled none the less. She couldn't deny that the fight was thrilling.

"Shadow magic is considered a black type of magic. Because it is consuming the sanity of their users, luring them into madness and chaos." Lucy ignored her compliment and continued on squeezing answers from her.

"What do you know about dark magic, girly?!" Nyx wasn't expecting to hear something like that. Old Lucy would have smirked by her reaction.

"You, who is bathing in light!" the black haired woman shouted angrily, and brought her arms up.

"Night Angel's Daggers of Darkness!" she screamed and before her a dark and purple magic circle materialized. Not second later hundreds of magic beams shot out in the size and form of daggers, but completely in black.

Lucy jumped up and spun around to dodge, but there were too many and she could feel the pain when the daggers cut through her flesh on her left hip and right arm. Fortunately for her they hit the edges of her arm and hip. It was only magic, but the beams even possessed the properties of a real dagger, which meant it it would slice completely through her arm, tearing apart the muscles and bone. To get out of the damage area she used balcony balustrades of each story to jump higher.

Nyx stopped the attack but followed. Lucy saw it and tried to take the advantage of being above her opponent. She let magic flow into her bracelet, to transform it into a katana. Then she let her body fall, when Nyx jumped up.

The black haired woman saw the sword and summoned two black daggers with her magic while she smirked. The two clashed middair. Lucy strikes down her sword and Nyx blocked it with her daggers. The force pushed them apart, and they landed on the balustrades on each side. Lucy felt how surprise pushed against her corobice. Her sword didn't slice through Nyx's magic. Something like that never happened before. The present from Astrael had the special properties of slicing through magic if Lucy commands it to. So why it didn't work?

Nyx saw that Lucy hesitated, and laughed. "You know the present from our angels have different special properties, but it doesn't work on other Himmelsjäger." she spoke like she would teach a little kid. Lucy realized at that moment that Nyx was right. While the others couldn't see her, Lucy did. So that meant her present was the cloak. It gave her the ability to be invisible. This also meant, that using her bracelet won't give her an advantage. She had to think about another strategy.

Through the fight until now, they were both evenly matched. In battles like this tactic and stamina counted. And while Lucy thought about something, she dully noticed that Nyx covered her magic. This meant she didn't know how much magic she really has. Therefore she decided to attack fast and hard, beating her before she got the chance to counter.

With this in mind, she gathered magic for an attack.

"Star Angel's Meteor Shower!" she declared, and above both of them materialized a big golden magic circle. Little meteors came out of it with an fast speed and in great mass.

At the beginning Nyx could dodge most of it, but similar like her attack before, there were too many meteors, and she was hit. But unlike her daggers, who sliced through there enemy, she was pushed back by the force of the meteors. Her body crashed into a large bookcase, which broke under the force. Books and parts of wood were flying around. Lucy notice the guilt which welled up in her, because she destroyed precious old books. She shoved it away, concentrating again.

She let her opponent no time to recover. She swung her body over the gap between the balconies, and readied her magic in her hands.

"Star Angel's Star Force!" with that her fist glowed golden, and she punched the Night Demon Slayer in the gut hard, into the ground. The forced dented the ground under the body and was enough to break through. Both fell through the hole, but Lucy could land easily on her feet, while Nyx was still a little dazed from the last hit, which let her fall on her knees.

Lucy was about to strike again, but Nyx was fast. "Night Angel's Demon Rage!" she shouted. Lucy couldn't react fast enough and was hit by the black beam. But she could hold her ground. The parts of the beam who didn't hit her crashed into the walls and bookcases behind her. Lucy wondered how much more the building could take before it would crumble, when the ground under her began to shook. She shouldn't have jinxed it.

Debris of stone fell from the ceiling and the ground under her was falling apart. They had to get out of here. But on the other side, they were still fighting, so coming up with an idea Lucy took action.

"Star Angel's Galactic storm!" She hold her hands to each side, and clapped them in front of her together. From her hands burst a golden tornado forward. It hit Nyx head on, and she was catapulted through the walls and with it to the outside.

* * *

Laxus materialized back to his body and landed on the ground. He let go of Erza and Natsu. The red head easily landed on her feet while Natsu clumsily fell down. The three turned to the library.

"Do you think we made the right choice?" Erza asked. She hated to left a friend behind to fend for himself.

"Yes. We wouldn't be much of a help. We can't see that chick. Besides, I trust Lucy." Laxus spoke convinced.

Erza watched Laxus confused. She never heard the Lighting Dragon Slayer talk like that about another person. She was happy he changed his opinion and attitude since the Fantasia incident. Of course he showed his dedication to the guild when he fought Raven Tail and his own father, but to see him openly trusting somebody else beside him was another step in the right direction.

"This sucks! I can't believe we don't fight besides Luce!" Natsu grumbled while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Deal with it." Laxus growled. The blonde know that Natsu wanted to protect Lucy. Fuck, he had to hold himself back to not rush back. But he believed in her. He know Natsu did, too. That he wasn't putting up a fight against him indicated that he was, for once, thinking with his brain. Fortunately, Natsu matured over the time he last saw him.

The group was startled when they heard a loud crashing, and traces of gold and purple magic. Not only that but they felt a heavy magic pressure.

"This feels like when master was fighting José." Natsu said in awe. And indeed, it did. When Laxus concentrated he could feel that the nature around him stopped, nervous about what would happen.

"Is this the power of two Himmelsjäger fighting?" Erza muttered in thought, but both Slayers could hear it. The ground shook and they saw golden light.

"At this rate the library will be completely demolished, once they stopped fighting." Erza sighed. Fairy Tail mages were still the best at destroying.

"Do you have found something?" Laxus asked the two. Erza stiffened for a moment which the blonde man saw. The requip mage meanwhile shot Natsu a look, which meant to not say anything, then turned to Laxus again.

"We didn't found anything about that fallen." she said. And technically that wasn't a lie. Laxus heard her heart rate and checked if she lied, but the beat was steady. But he couldn't shake the feeling that the two were up to something.

Then suddenly the ground shook again, this time harder. They all looked nervous to the building, only to see that it had started to break down.

"Shit! We have to get Lucy out of it!" Natsu shouted and was about to move to the library, but he stopped when he saw that a golden tornado pushed a body out of the building. The body, now recognizable as the enemy, landed fifty meters besides them. They could finally see her, and indeed it was the woman, who was with Tertius back in Caelum.

"What the fu…." Laxus began but like Natsu was interrupted, as the building finally collapsed. A gold flash was shortly seen after and, Lucy crashed into the earth besides them.

"Lucy!" Erza shouted happily. Her friend was fine, and not buried under that crumbled building. Laxus helped the blonde up, while he checked for injuries. He growled when he saw the cuts and blood on her hip and arm. A burning rage filled him, and he wanted to get that black haired wench and crush her into the ground. No one hurts his comrades.

"You're bleeding!" Natsu, who stood now by her side, said. Lucy only shook it off, while pushing Laxus hand aside.

"It's not over yet." she declared, and began to walk to Nyx, who also recovered from the impact.

"You're hurt. Let us handle that." Laxus said. He didn't want her to get any more hurt. Lucy didn't even stopped.

"No. This is my fight." she said seriously.

Nyx, now back on her feet smirked.

"Did you have not enough yet? But I have to say that last move was pretty good." Nyx laughed. But it came to a sudden end as Lucy glowed golden and disappeared, only to reappear in the air right behind the Night Demon Slayer.

"Star Angel's Shooting Star Impact!" With this Lucy made a somersault midair and kicked Nyx with the out stretched leg which was glowing golden.

Nyx was pushed back, but could hold her ground.

"You don't use your demon side. You're too afraid of it!" Nyx shouted upset. She activated her Night Angel's Night Force and punched. Lucy could block it with her arms hold up as a "X". But she was also pushed back.

"So you mean you're using it? Isn't it more like it's using you?" Lucy asked in her monotonous voice. She gathered magic in her hands and with the chant of "Star Angel's Galactic Storm" another golden wind tornado burst from her hands. Nyx could avoid it by inches.

"It's not using me, when it gives me so much power!" the black haired woman countered.

"But it still pulls you into darkness." Lucy stated. Her friends now watched as the two women were engaged into a fast hand-to-hand combat.

"What do you know of me?! Nothing! I was thrown into darkness when those sick humans killed my whole family!" Nyx has reached a new high of her anger. With a fist, fortified with her magic, she punched Lucy in the gut, which forced her back and on her knees. Erza and Natsu gasped shocked, while Laxus growled. But Lucy ignored it, and concentrated on her opponent. While she saw the huge anger in those violet eyes, she could also see pain. And this was it. The reason why she helped Tertius. Blinded by the grief and pain the loss of her family caused her, she wanted revenge on every human being. Lucy knew that the demon blood even increased those negatives feelings. While she knew she wouldn't get out of her what their plan exactly was, she gathered why her fellow Demon Slayer betrayed her quest.

Lucy decided to end this fight. "Star Angel's Demon Rage!" she chanted and let the significant golden beam loose, which pushed Nyx back.

"You know, revenge will not bring back your family. Besides, you have still family left. What is with your patrem?" Lucy asked while stepping in front of Nyx. In the violet eyes of the black haired woman she could see more pain. But it was gone after a second.

"We will meet again." Nyx only declared before her figure turned into black shadows, and she was gone. Lucy let out a sigh.

Her friends moved to her.

"At least we could gather some information on that bastard." Laxus resumed. Erza and Natsu thought about their success in finding a way to help Lucy. And the blonde herself had now basic infos which would help her in bringing Nyx back on the right track.

"But I think the council will not be happy about the destroyed library." Erza deadpanned. The others look to the pile of wood and stone, which was the library an hour ago.

"Well let's get moving. I bet that somebody already noticed the magic from the fight. Let's be gone before anyone arrives." Laxus said, unhappy. He know it wasn't Lucy's fault, because they could do nothing besides fighting, but they left traces which are easily to be found out by the council.

"Well, Lucy is now a real Fairy Tail mage! She destroyed an entire building!" Natsu laughed. And the others felt a little cheered up, besides Lucy. She felt the guilt which pushed against her wall lessen. Fairy Tail wasn't gone yet.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it!**

 **I know I repeat myself, but THANK YOU SO MUCH! All the reviews/ follows/ favorites make me so happy I could just dance on my stool the whole time I'm reading this!**

 **I also like to recommend a good anime I recently found: Akatsuki no yona/ Yona of the Dawn. It's a great anime with a lot of action, romance and comedy. And this is the first time I actually love All of the characters. So if you're in search for good stuff to watch, try it. Just saying.**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	14. Chapter 13

**Welcome my dear readers! Sorry for the long wait, but university kept me occupied the last week. This is my firs free day since one and a half week, and to relax I wrote this chapter!**

 **Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail!**

* * *

"Ouch!"

"Dammit, Natsu! Stay still! I can't treat your injures if you're moving!" Erza huffed annoyed.

The mages were currently camping in the woods again, after the incident at the library, to treat their wounds and to plan on what to do next. While Erza tried to clean Natsu's scratches, who flinched by every touch of her because he expected more pain, Laxus grilled some meat over the campfire. Lucy was meditating.

All of the mages (except Lucy) were unsatisfied with how the whole journey until now turned out. While they gathered a little information about that Fallen, they still didn't know what his plan was, and what the heck Azurra's star was, or meant. Since the library was destroyed now, thanks to that other Demon Slayer, they couldn't continue on searching there. Meaning they had to find a new source. And they had to contact the other half of the team. And while they would have to think about another way of getting some useful informations, Tertius whereabouts were still unknown. He could be anywhere, getting ahead with his plan. The clock ticked.

When they were all eating, lost in their own thoughts, a bright golden light appeared, and materialized into the form of Crux, one of Lucy's spirits.

"Good evening, Miss Lucy and her companions." he greeted the round. Lucy stepped in front of him.

"Hello, Crux. Did you found anything?" she politely greeted back and asked.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lucy, but the information about Azurra's star is forbidden knowledge. This means, that spirits are forbidden to tell any humans about it. Specifically this artifact, is one of the most kept secrets. It's a wonder you even heard the name of it in the mortal world." the old spirit explained while holding his chin.

"We met a fallen angel who is about to destroy the world. He mentioned it." she told him.

"A fallen angel? But even the angels are forbidden to know the secrets of the spirit world. So how did he gain this knowledge?" Crux was unsettled. This was a big affair. The angels and spirits had a peaceful coexisting. Each had their own secrets and government. That specifically a banished angel know of something, even most of the spirits had no clue existed, was very unsettling. He had to tell the spirit king about it.

"Excuse me, Miss Lucy, but I have to go back to the spirit world." and with that the spirit puffed up in golden smoke and was gone. The rest of the group looked baffled on how fast the spirit vanished.

"Hey, this time he didn't fall asleep!" Happy snickered. Lucy looked at him, and for the tiniest moment he thought he is about to receive a 'Lucy-kick', when he remembered she couldn't feel angry anymore.

"It looks like he is asleep, when he researches. But this time, I communicated mentally with him and tasked him with looking up about Azurra's star. And thanks to Crux, we now know it is an artifact." she concluded.

The others nodded. An Artifact could have more than one purpose. Is it just a meaningless object for decoration, or a magical tool? And if it has any magic, what kind of powers does it have? So with the fact that it was an artifact, even more question arose.

"But that Tertius gained the knowledge about this artifact, which is apparently a well kept secret in the spirit world, let me wonder on how he did that." Lucy thought over this whole mess.

"Aren't the spirits and angels close? Like they both live in the heaven or spirit world, or whatever you call it?" Natsu asked confused. This whole thinking department was not his strong side. His head already began to hurt.

"No. These are two different realms, completely separated from each other. It's kind of like Edolas and Earthland." the blonde explained. Natsu nodded, to indicate that he understood.

"Edolas?" Laxus asked bewildered. "Oh yes, that opposite world." he answered himself as he remembered. He wasn't a member of the guild when this incident happened, but he heard stories about it. He didn't believe everything he heard, because apparently only Lucy, Erza, Wendy, Natsu, Gray and Gajeel saw this strange world. The others were stuck in a lacrima. Oh, and of course Lisanna, who was forced to live there. He had to held back a snicker when he imagined how the 'other' Lucy was. He didn't know why, but the images of leather appeared. He was interrupted when Natsu spoke.

"So what now? We don't know where that fallen is, or what his exact plan is." he grumbled and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"I think it's best to contact Jellal, if he got any farther than us." Erza answered and looked at Lucy. She know that the blonde had to approve this. This was the next logical step, so she didn't except her to disagree. Besides she couldn't deny that she missed the blue-haired man. It saddened her that she met him, only to be separated again. She know it was the smartest way, but she was little bit selfish. She couldn't and didn't want to suppress her feelings. She wanted to be near him.

So when Lucy nodded, she felt happy for the first time in that week.

"I get the communication-lacrima." Lucy said and turned around, only to be stopped by a large hand on her wrist.

"Not so fast. We have to treat your injuries." Laxus said with a final tone. Lucy looked at him, and for the tiniest moment she thought she saw worry in his eyes.

"As I said before, I have a fast healing rate." she countered, but Laxus eyes drifted to her hip. Confused, she followed his gaze, and shock clashed onto her mind wall when she saw that her clothes were slightly tainted with blood.

"What? How?" Lucy said indifferent. Freeing her wrist from Laxus's grip, she tugged her long-shirt above her head. Both of the male Dragon Slayers cheeks became red, expecting to see some flesh, but both were disappointed, when they saw a sports-bra covering her chest. But the disappointment immediately changes to shock, once their gazes fell on the deep and still bleeding cut which adorned her arm and her hip.

"Oh Mavis! Lucy! Why didn't you say anything? I will treat those cuts immediately!" Erza hurried up and pushed the blonde to sit down. Then she started to clean the cuts.

"You didn't feel them?" Natsu said bewildered.

"I do feel them, but that's normal. My angel blood just heals injuries faster, but the pain lingers longer, than the wounds existed. But that those cuts still aren't healed, is not normal." the blonde explained. Erza meanwhile pressed a cotton ball soaked with alcohol to her wound. Lucy didn't flinched. The red haired woman, admitted that even she would have flinched, and wondered how much the mind wall covers even from Lucy's sensations of her body.

"What exactly caused those cuts?" Laxus asked. He didn't like the fact that Lucy was wounded, but he even more despised the fact, that apparently something hindered her fast healing rate.

"Nyx attacked me with daggers, made of her magic….." Lucy let her voice fade out, as she realized something.

"It's because she uses the same form of magic like you, right?" Erza concluded for the blonde.

"I think so." The blonde woman merely said. This fact left more questions, than it answered. Was it just because both of them were Himmelsjäger or is it because she used Light magic, while Nyx used Dark magic? Or is it just Nyx's magic entirely, and therefore causes more damage on normal humans? Does it have something to do with Tertius? Did he taught her a different technique of her angel magic? So many questions. Again.

Lucy rubbed over her face with her right hand. The more she found out the more there was still to discover. Why couldn't it be like the times before Tartaros? Everything was so easy back then.

"Is this connected to your ability to see her, when we couldn't?" Laxus asked. He saw the blonde occupied with her thoughts, and because it appeared to him that she struggled with something he decided distract her with questions.

"You can't see her because of her cape. I think it's her gift from her patrem. Also apparently our gift's don't work on other Himmelsjäger." she explained.

The others nodded. Erza finished the bandages on Lucy's cuts, and sat back on her seat. As the meat was finally ready, they all were fast to gulp it down.

Once they finished, Lucy got the lacrima, and poured a tiny amount of magic into it, while thinking of her blue haired friend. After five seconds a image of Jellal appeared in the crystal ball.

"Hello Lucy." he spoke calmly and showed a neutral expression, which didn't surprised anyone of the group which gathered around the blonde to see their friend.

"Jellal. I'm calling to ask if you and the others have found anything." Lucy said, and saw Gray and Juvia standing behind Jellal.

"Why, didn't you find something?" he answered with a question. The blonde pushed the Irritation back down and began to answer.

"We got only infos about his origins and history, and we encountered that women, who accomplished him, who is the Night Demon Slayer, as well as a fellow Himmelsjäger. But that's it. Nothing on why he searches for that star, or what his plan could be."

"Once we meet up, you tell me the whole story about that encounter, but any information is a piece we can use against him. So I don't think you wasted time. And also I have great news." this statement let the group lean more to the lacrima, as small smug grin appeared on Jellal lips.

"We could gather the location of that star." Everyone beside Lucy was baffled. Laxus was the one who spoke first.

"How? And where is it?" he asked, but the formerly criminal only shook his head.

"I tell you once we meet. We are already on the ship to Fiore. The day after tomorrow we'll arrive at Petunia, the nearest town to the library. We'll meet you there. Until then, goodbye." and with that the vision faded, and the connection broke. Still staring at the lacrima Lucy hold in her hand, they all blinked.

"That bastard! Why did he just cut off the call, without saying where this damn thing is!" Natsu exclaimed angrily.

"We don't know if the connection was safe. It's smart to wait until we can speak in person about it." Erza admitted. While she admired Jellal smartness, she was a little bit angry he didn't addressed her, or even once looked at her.

"Well, I think we should call it a night, and head to that town the next thing in the morning." Laxus said as he started to lay out his sleeping bag.

* * *

The little march to Petunia took half a day. Not much was spoken on the way, because everyone was lost in his own thought. Once they arrived at the town, they decided to stay at an inn. The nature is beautiful, but definitely has a lack of proper sanitary equipment. Lucy and Erza, who shared a room, immediately took the opportunity to use the blessing called shower. The boys meanwhile searched the city for food and supplies.

Petunia was a calm and peaceful town which was famous for the beautiful city park. And while many people claimed the flowers here were magically, because they were so bright and colorful, no magic could be found here, besides wizards who occasionally pass through.

After the group ate all together everyone parted. Laxus said he was going to train, Erza dragged Natsu to somewhere unknown which left Lucy, who decided to visit the beautiful park.

Lucy was strolling along the main road of the park, stopping here and there to gaze at a particularly pretty flower. It was late in the evening, which was why no one besides her was at this place. But Lacy was grateful for this at the moment.

The days since she met her old friends, were weighing down on her. Every day the suppressed emotions, were gaining strength, making it harder and harder for her to press them down. When she was alone, like right now, she could calm down completely. Just being around somebody, especially her friends, sprouted feelings of happiness but also sadness and melancholy.

How long it would take until one of those emotions was too strong to suppress? Months? Weeks? Days? She couldn't let that happen.

The blonde Slayer sat down on the soft grass and looked at the sky. The stars shone brightly, and they had a calming effect on her. Like always, when her gaze fell upon them.

Her emotionless brain thought about her options. She could leave her friends and fight alone. But Tertius was insanely strong and without the help of the others, Lucy knew for sure, she wouldn't have a chance. Besides Laxus would never just walk away. While she didn't know Mavis intention behind her task for Laxus, to accompany her, she knew that the blonde Dragon Slayer took this quest seriously. So this option fell flat.

But what else could she do? She would have to train her inner strength and resolve, to be in control. Maybe she could ask Meredy for help. Maybe the pinkette knew of something.

As Lucy noticed the calm breeze who blew around her, her gaze fell on a violet flower beside her. Her thoughts wandered to Nyx, her fellow Himmelsjäger.

Lucy knew their last battle was a mere testing of the waters. Neither of them gave it their full strength. And while she provoked the Night Demon Slayer, her rage did not fully awakened her demon blood. How strong is she, when it comes to life? Nyx proclaimed it gave her immense power. Could she defeat her, once Nyx gave fully in to her dark blood?

But Lucy also noticed the Sadness and Insanity in her. Nyx wants revenge for something humans did to her. This negative drive must be the main source for the strong hold her demon side has over her. She walked a path that headed right into Madness.

Maybe Lucy could help her, get her back on the right track. She could only hope so.

The blonde was startled as she heard nearing footsteps. As she turned around she saw Laxus, who walked to her.

"A good night for stargazing, huh?" he spoke with a small smile on his lips, and sat down beside her. Lucy watched his every move. His arrival awoke a feeling of happiness in her. And this one stronger than normal. She hold a hand above her heart, as she pushed it back.

"You're like me, when there's a thunderstorm. I could watch it for hours, but now surprise there. Mages like us, would always find peace in our element." he spoke, while he watched the sky. Lucy saw that his thoughts must be somewhere else. She had no idea why he said something like that, so she just listened.

"It's hard for you around us, right? Maintaining your mind wall, I mean." he said that after a while and his gaze fell on her. Lucy felt the surprise as it clashed on her wall. How could he know? She hold his gaze, and searched his eyes for an reason why he said that.

"It's getting harder." she answered him in a low voice. They looked each other in the eyes. While Laxus searched for any emotion, Lucy could see a flicker. In his gaze lay something like disruption. Like he didn't know what to do, but also worry. And for the first time, since they two were together Lucy noticed, that they both weren't as different as she thought. Like her he struggled with his inner self.

And in that moment, she felt herself completely calm down. No emotions were pushing against her wall, besides a mild Warmth, which was relieving in comparison to the feelings which she normally suppressed when she was around her friends.

"But you're the exception. Around you all those emotions are calming down." she told him, while still holding his gaze.

And the first real smile since days graced his lips.

* * *

"Well, we should head back." Natsu said. Erza and him were dead tired after trying to understand that book, which Erza saved from the library, for hours. The book that could help to bring back the old Lucy. But no matter how hard they concentrated, the language was old and hard to understand as well as the spells were impossible to grasp. Erzas snapped the book shut with a very displeased huff.

"This is infuriating! Why can't we get those spells?" she talked more to herself, and stood up. She transported the book back into her realm, were all her others armors were.

"We could always try tomorrow, or just ask someone else." Natsu suggested before he yawned. He stood up from the table. The tavern they picked as the location to decipher the book, was almost empty. Just the people slumped over the bar were still there, besides Natsu and Erza. The Fire Dragon Slayer walked a couple of steps, before he turned around.

"You're coming?" he asked the redhead. Erza looked at her mug and sighed.

"Go ahead. I want to finish the cup." she told him. Natsu merely nodded, and walked out of the tavern, with a sleeping Happy over his shoulder.

The Requip mage was frustrated. But not only that, she felt also helpless. This whole matter wasn't something she could slice with her sword or tackle down with strength, which was her strong side. She wasn't even sure if Lucy would want their help. She mentioned that once her corobice breaks, her demon blood would take over. Erza couldn't imagine what would happen, because she has no experience with soul magic or inhuman blood. Was it possible that it would hurt Lucy? Could she die?

Erza's resolve started to break. Was it even the right ting to force this on Lucy? She know the state she was in now, was horrible. While she know Lucy had no emotions, how can someone live without feelings all alone happiness? Did she even have the right to help her? After all, their departure was it that caused all of this in the first place. But still, she wanted to help her friend so badly.

The redhead was interrupted in her thoughts as a voice behind her spoke.

"Long time, no see." said a male voice. Ezra's head flew around, and with her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the man. Mest. There standing behind her was Mest, the Man who ordered her to observe Lucy.

"Mest... what a surprise... What are you doing here?" she asked still perplexed. The councilman smiled, and sat himself down across her.

"Well, after the council heard that the magic library was destroyed, they sent me there. Now on my way back I stopped here, to stay the night, and find you in a tavern alone. Say, what are you doing here? I thought you and the rest of the group were in Caelum." Mest nearly had a smug expression, which left Erza to wonder what the teleportation mage already knew. After Erza fidgeted and stuttered, Mest sighed.

"Erza, why are you here?"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Also I'd like to mention that something bad happened to one of our fellow (Fairy Tail) authors.**

 **MissyPlatina received a review on her story "Texting Fire" from a guest called "someone out** **ther" stating that he/she found the story on google, and thinks about posting in on her/his blog, without naming her as the author and commenting the story as herself/himself.**

 **After that she received another review from the same person stating she/he posted it.**

 **This is very disappointing and infuriating! It doesn't matter if people steals pictures or fan fiction, IT IS NOT RIGHT!**

 **Missyplatina wrote that she will be not updating her stories (this includes "Virtual Flames" and "Quarant** **ine") until this person has been found, and I fully support her. So while I keep my eyes open, I'd like to ask you to do the same. If you find the story somewhere please contact Missyplatina!**

 **Thanks _someone out ther_ for spitting in all of the faces of us authors, and for disappointing so many fans of Missyplatina's stories who enjoyed her work, and waited for more chapters!**

 **Anyway, dear readers, thank you for reading this, and thanks for the help!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	15. Chapter 14

**Welcome back!**

 **So this time we'll take a little look on the other side of the coin.**

 **Musical inspiration: "Run" by Awolnation.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the mentioned song.**

* * *

 _Humans are weak and selfish creatures. Happiness is a mere illusion. Blades are always ready to be used. Fate itself is cruel in it's decisions._

 _Those are the facts of this world._

Those thoughts circled in her head, again and again. Nyx huffed. She knew she wouldn't fall asleep once more, so she gave up. Slowly she sat herself up. The room she rented for the night at this shady inn, was, what the look outside promised. A tiny room which definitely saw better days. The furniture were clearly used, the wooden floor laced with stains and sometimes she thought she heard a squeak, which left to wonder what exactly shared the room with her. But she had not much money, so this room was better than to stay outside without any camping equipment.

As she tried to stand up, she stopped in her movements. Pain from her abdomen halted her breathing for a short moment.

 _Damn this Bitch._

As the pain finally subsided she carefully stood up, and walked into the bathroom. There, standing before the mirror, she lifted up her top to discover a large purple bruise. Again she cursed. This blonde chick could really pack a punch. And since she was a Himmelsjäger, regardless not using all of her power, wounds inflicted from one of her kind would heal at human pace. As in painfully slow.

It wasn't like the look of the bruise itself irritated her. This was only a little addition to all of the scars which covered her front and her back. What made her furious, was that she was reminded of how pain felt. She thought she had become numb to this feeling.

 _"Why so angry?"_ a smirking voice in her head said. Startled she looked into the mirror. There was herself, or a bizarre version of her. Her normally black with purple sprinkles colored eyes, were now pitch black, and had an evil spark in them. Also this figure in the mirror was confident and mocking her with her expression and perfect skin.

"What do you want?" she growled. This wasn't the first time, Nyx saw this side of herself. While she normally embraced this side, this morning she didn't have the nerve to deal with her.

 _"Ahh... Look at you. Arrogantly underestimating your enemy. A beginners mistake."_ the figure sneered, and crossed her arms before her chest.

"Shut up." Nyx warned her.

 _"And now you're whining because of a bruise. You're pathetic. Just like your little demon_ _frie..."_ Her other part couldn't continue, because Nyx bailed her fist and smashed this sickening image of her in the mirror. Heavy breathing, she gritted her teeth and tried to calm down. Blood, from the cuts on her fist, slowly dropped to the ground, but she couldn't care less. This cuts wouldn't exist in mere minutes anymore.

She took a last deep breath and relaxed her fists. After she washed her face, she stepped over the bloody shards into the main room. She lay down on the small uncomfortable bed and closed her eyes.

... _Humans are weak and selfish creatures..._

* * *

 _"There is this demon child."_

 _"Did you hear? Rumor had it that girl is playing with the devil!"_

 _"I can't understand her mother. I would abandoned her a long time ago!"_

 _"How dare she walk between us, like she is a normal child?!"_

 _Eyes hefted on the ground she didn't dare to look up, fearing to upset the people even more. Hurrying through the streets of the village, the small girl tried to draw no attention. Not, that it was really possible. Turning a corner she sighed. There in front of her was the road to forest, which was deserted. She was nearly there._

 _Sprinting down the road, she reached the forest soon, and ran on the small path, that she created. Here she could held her face high. Here she was free. Excitement bubbled up in her, and she even ran faster with a slight smile on her face._

 _Closing her eyes for a second she missed a root, and she began to tumble. She could not regain her balance and fell flat down on her face. Wincing she slowly she sat up, and rubbed her nose. She was relieved it wasn't broken, though it hurt. She grumbled about her own stupidity, when she heard laughing. Panicked, she looked around to localize the source in the trees above her, but she couldn't see anything. Was it a person from the village? A bandit? A hunter?_

 _Suddenly a figure fell out of the tree, and landed in front of her. Startled she fell on her back, wincing again at the pain the fall inflicted on her back. Forgetting the pain, she concentrated on the situation again, and saw the face of the figure._

 _"I know humans are clumsy, but you took it to another level!" the boy in front of her laughed while holding his stomach._

 _It was Caster. A stone fell from her heart, as she recognized the figure as her friend Caster. But a second later the relief was replaced by anger._

 _"As if you never stumbled over something!" she growled back. He smirked back, but at the same time helped her back on her feet._

 _"Nope. We're demons would never clumsily stumble over something little like a root. A group of people, we squished under our feet, maybe." he answered. Right. He was a demon. She forget that from time to time. Maybe because he looked like a normal twelve year old boy at the first look. But on the second look, you can notice the difference. His hair, with the color of the darkest black, his green eyes with almost slitted pupils, and his ears, which were slightly pointed. Not to mention his canines were longer than normal one's._

 _"Ok, can we forget that and get to the training? What's on the agenda for today?" The girl tried to get on._

 _"You're still on mastering the technique of merging with the shadow, and Nocturna instructed me not to move on, until you fully grasped it." Caster said matter of factly, sounding like a scolding teacher._

 _Nyx scoffed. This technique was hard to learn, and she felt like she made no progress. All of the other spells were so easy for her to learn. And sometimes, she felt like Caster was no help. She missed her patrem. Nocturna could teach her in a way, she would understand. But her patrem was too busy in the other realm as to train her._

 _She realized her train of thoughts and bit on her tongue. This was not Caster's or Nocturna's fault. Her patrem cared deeply for her. She chose to introduce her to her true identity early, which gave her the chance of training properly, and becoming stronger. And while someone would say it was wrong to burden a child with such powers, which involved much responsibility, she was grateful. Now she had the possibility to prepare herself properly for her duty as a Himmelsjäger._

 _But Nocturna couldn't train her. Apparently her sister was critically ill, and the angel feared that she wouldn't have much time left. So she decided to stay by her side. Nyx understood that. But her patrem didn't left her alone. She send Caster to train her. And Caster was a special case of a demon. The exact definition of the relationship between him and her patrem was still a mystery to her, but she was told that Caster was demon who turned sides, back in the big war._

 _The girl smiled a little as she remembered her first meeting with him. Caster was forced by Nocturna to change his appearance into a human, to the same age as Nyx. Caster wasn't happy about this. "Embarrassing" and "Disgraceful" he often called it. She still didn't saw his true form, and she wasn't sure if she want to._

 _But despite his human form, the people of her conservative village saw the two of them casting shadow magic, and deemed them both as the accomplice of the devil. And treated her as the ruler of the hell himself. With open disgust. Even her family were affected by it. Her parents know of the fact her child had inhuman blood and they were told the whole story by Nocturna herself, as she first met Nyx. But the villagers treated them as outcasts, too. Nocturna said it was best not to tell anyone about the power of her, so her parents kept her secret. And while they supported her, she noticed the strained smiles. She could only imagine the things they said to her parents. But it could be much worse._

 _"...Nyx? Nyx! You still here with me?!" Caster said annoyed and snapped his finger at her face, bringing her back to reality._

 _"Yeah! Sorry... Let's begin." She excused herself. Caster would always distract her. And while he was often grumpy and sadistic, he was her only friend. This whole time she trained with him, was the happiest time in her life. The both trotted further into the woods away from the civilization._

 _Three hours later Nyx was on the way back to her house. The moon gave off a brilliantly light, which illuminated her path. Not that she needed the light. She could see perfectly in the dark._

 _Making her way through the village, she saw no people, which she was happy about. While she almost grew immune to the the voices, she could move freely now. Not hurrying, trying to avoid the people._

 _But once she reached the little cottage her parents and her called their home, all relief left her and was replaced by pure shock and sadness._

 _There, with red paint, written all across the front side of the house, was "DIE SATANS'S SPAWN"._

 _...Happiness is a mere illusion..._

* * *

"I hope you had fun yesterday." the deep and dark voice of her boss startled Nyx out of her thoughts. She hastily sat up and saw him sitting in all his dark glory at the table, legs crossed and smirking. Tertius.

Knowing what would happen if she didn't answer, she answered fast.

"I miscalculated." Lying to him was pointless. She didn't know he was able to, but he always knew when someone lied. Tertius smile grew bigger. It ran cold down her back. This wasn't a good sign.

"You miscalculated." he resumed, while he stood up. Shivering she watched him as he turned to the window and stare outside. As he stayed silent for a few minutes her nervousness rises steadily. Tertius was someone who dislike mistakes. A few scars on her back were the proof. Also frightened was that he was unpredictable. His mood swings faster than she could blink. Some times he just shouted at her, and other times he used violence. But she had to endure everything in order to gain her goal.

"I think I told you to stop Astrael's bastard from getting information. Not in killing her, but the option of roughing her up was up to you. But not only was the one who was roughed up you, you also failed in hinder her from researching!" the longer he talked the louder his voice grew, and the more rage was laced in it.

Suddenly he turned around and was in two steps in front of her.

 _Clap!_ In one quick motion he slapped her across the face. Not only her head, but her whole body flew around, falling from the bed. The pain was quick to come, and she was sure that if he used his whole strength, that her head wouldn't be attached to her body anymore. Grabbing her stinging cheek, she crawled slightly away from him, and didn't dare to look him in the eye. It was the best tactic to show obedience.

He sighed, and stepped back to the window again. She holde her own sigh back. Apparently he was satisfied with slap.

"I have another mission for you. And this time make sure to do it right. Or it will be your last." he warned her.

* * *

 _"Those humans! They dare to treat their protector this way?!" Caster exclaimed angrily as he tended one of her wounds. The two were in the woods again, sitting by a small river. Nyx sat on a stump, while he kneeled beside her, cleaning the bleeding cut on her forehead._

 _"They don't know that. They really believe I am the spawn of the devil." she stated in a low voice._

 _"But throwing rocks at you?! That goes to far! I never thought humans would treat each other this way!" he answered with his deep voice, which was almost growling._

 _Nyx understood the people. They were frightened. It was instinct for humans to fear the unknown. They never saw a mage, and now they witness her using shadow magic which was ominous looking for the outsider. But it sadden her none the less that people she kew all her life, who treated her so nicely before, could easily forget their kindness and throw rocks at her._

 _"Why didn't you fight back?!" the demon now asked her angrily. Caster sided with the angels early in the war. He didn't agree with his kind, didn't want to conquer the human world. But that didn't mean he was fond of the human race. He saw them under him, like they were animals. But since he trained Nyx, he became quite fond of her. So it made him furious something like this happened to her._

 _"I can't use my magic to hurt them. It wouldn't be fair." she_ _answered back._

 _"But you still have fists! Use them!" the more she talked like this the more his voice changed into growling._

 _"It would've upset them even more, if I fought back." her voice was low, but steady. Her opinion wouldn't change. He finished bandaging her cut, and stood up. Angry, he punched the next tree. Nyx winced. When Caster was this furious, his demon nature shown, which she was slightly scared of. He turned back to her._

 _"From now on I will escort you. No human dare to lay a finger on you if I am at your side." he said with determination._

 _She want to decline that, argue with him about how people will react to the two of them, but it was pointless. She knew he was hardheaded. Also a little part of her was happy to have him around her. So she stayed silent._

 _"I think training today with your injuries wouldn't make much sense. Let's bring you back home." he sighed, and helped her back on her feet. Together they started to walk the path which led them to the village._

 _Once they left the village, they stopped. There was a big black smoke cloud coming from one of the houses in the village which only could be caused by a big fire._

 _Nyx gasped. This was the direction of her house. She turned to Caster._

 _"This is coming from my house!" she screamed, tears already in her eyes. Caster looked shock, but regain composure fast. He grab Nyx and hold her to his chest before he took of. With his demon speed, they would be much faster._

 _Not a minute later they reached the house. A big group of people were gathered around it, watching the burning house, screaming harsh words, or holding up their torches in accomplishment. The house itself was ablaze, letting no spot untouched by the flames. Sparks were flying everywhere, and the smoke darkened the sky._

 _Caster heard how Nyx gasped in his arms. He gripped her tightly before he used his shadow ability, to merge himself with the shadow. He slithered through the group of people, finally reaching the house. He transformed back, and set Nyx back to the ground. People around them start to notice them, and were walking to them._

 _"Nyx! Do you see your parents?!" Caster asked her pressured. She shook her head, her gaze never leaving the burning house._

 _Caster wanted to say more, but a group of men reached them. They tried to grab him, but he punched and kicked them away effortlessly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nyx suddenly stand up and running to the house._

 _"Nyx!" he shouted, and wanted to follow her, but the man wouldn't let him. He cursed while fending them off. For the first time he prayed to all eternal beings above him, to bring his friend back safely._

 _The girl's mind was blank. The shock only let her think about one thing: her parents._

 _She entered the burning house, and somewhere deep in her mind she registered the unbearable heat, and the smoke which weighed down her lungs. Parts of the ceiling are already falling apart, burning parts crashing down._

 _She looked into every room, until she reached the living room. There she saw an image which would hunt her the rest of her life._

 _Her father kneeling in front of burned body. A body which had the same height and form as her mother. Slowly she stepped beside her father, who was weeping with his hands holding his face._

 _Her twelve year old mind had a hard time registering everything. Her gaze was hefted upon the body, which was itself a horrible sight. As she reached the upper part, her whole body jerked as she saw the slightly burned necklace, still around the neck of the body. The golden necklace of her mother. In this moment it all came crashing down on her._

 _She started to scream, while clutching her head. Tears where streaming down her cheeks. Her father finally notice her, and was frightened to see her._

 _"NYX! Get out of here!" he said to her as he stood up and clutched her shoulders. As she didn't stop her screaming, he shook her whole body._

 _"Please Nyx! You have to run! Please!" he shouted desperately at her. But the shock had her tightly in his grip._

 _Suddenly her father could hear the groaning, as the ceiling above them gave up. Looking up he saw a massive beam falling down on them._

 _He left no time, and pushed Nyx out of the way. Not a second later, the beam crashed down on him. Nyx stopped her screaming finally coming back to reality, only to see just the hand of her father sticking out under a massive part of the ceiling. The hand didn't move. She kneeled down._

 _"...no, no, no, no, no, NO!" she weeped. This was all her fault._

"This isn't your fault. The humans caused this. Burned down a house with people still inside." _a voice suddenly said in her mind. Or was someone around her? She couldn't quite find the source, but at this moment she couldn't care less._

"Those pathetic humans, filled with fear and hate! They are the ones who should burn!" _the voice spoke again. Nyx couldn't found a argument against this._

"Treating you and your family this way! They should be the ones who the rocks are thrown at!" _Yes indeed. All the suffering her parents and her had to endure._

"Avenge your mother! Avenge your father! They deserve nothing more than death!" _the voice screamed._

 _"YES!" Nyx shouted to. The words of the voice filled her with a burning rage, and a thirst to crush down all of those people._

 _Suddenly her whole body trembled and her skin began to itch. Her nails grew to sharp claws. She could feel as her magic powered up to new levels. As she thought it reached her level, it burst from her body, which blowed the whole house apart. The fire decreased, and she could breath fresh air. The power in her reached new_ _heights._

 _Caster was punching the endlessly coming people, as a huge blast, pushed all of the people back. Startled he turned to the source, and found Nyx standing in the fragments of her home. There she stood still with her head down. All over her body were black markings._

 _"No..." he said in a low voice. He feared it would happen one day, but this was too soon. Her demon blood took over._

 _He noticed the people around him, as they discovered her. While some of them looked afraid, others looked enraged, and began to shout profanities at her._

 _One charged at her. Caster wanted to scream at him, trying to stop him, but it was to late._

 _Once the man was in her reach, she thrust her hand forward, directly into the chest of the man. His whole body stopped, and his shocked gaze slowly looked down to the tiny arm which disappeared in his ribcage. With her head still down she, she pulled her arm back. The man slumped down on his knees, clutching his bloody chest before he broke down on the floor lifeless. Nyx still holding her arm up, holding the heart of the man._

 _Caster and the crowd around them were shocked. There standing between the fragments of the house was a twelve year old girl covered in blood who just ripped out the heart of a man._

 _Slowly she lifted her head. With a malicious smile she gazed down on them._

 _"Run."_

 _The crowd began to scream and gushed apart, in the desperate need to flee. Caster was standing still, trying to make sense of the situation. Her friend literally turned into a demon._

 _He stepped forward, trying to reach her, but her body moved. She charged at the running people._

 _Reaching a woman, she sliced her whole back open. More Blood._

 _Ripping apart the body of a man. More blood._

 _Piercing the chest of another person. More blood._

 _Beheading the next human. Too much blood._

 _Jerking into motions, Caster ran to her, but she was too fast. The only thing he could do was watch her murdering the whole village._

 _Once she was done, there was just a burning village left. Corpses and body parts lying all around. And blood. So much blood._

 _He saw her figure standing in the middle of it, breathing hard. He walked slowly to her._

 _"Nyx." he addressed her carefully. She didn't move._

 _"Nyx come back." he tried again. He reached her. Softly he led his hand on her shoulder._

 _Suddenly she clutched her hand, and her body began to tremble. The markings started to vanish, and her nails growing smaller._

 _Then she fainted. He easily caught her in his arms. This nightmare was over._

 _...Blades are always ready to be used..._

* * *

Another small town with sickening friendly people. She lost count of how many she had been in her life. Like those smiles were real. Nyx huffed. Nobody could be this happy. Unnoticed she walked through the crowd.

Orientating herself she read every sign of the various shops. There it was. Berthold's antiquities.

She entered the shop and looked around. The interior was old fashioned as expected, and filled with old furniture or decorations. She could see the thick dust on everything. But more importantly, there was no one in here, besides the owner of the shop, she heard shuffling in a backroom.

Quietly she turned the open sign to closed, and pulled down the blinds. Then she walked around the counter and stepped into the door to the backroom. It was like a little office. There was a desk, and many shelves who covered the walls. Her target, put some boxes down, before he picked up another one, and turned to the door she was standing in.

Startled he let the box fall down.

"Oh dear! You scared me! I didn't hear you coming into the shop. Can I help you?" he said after he calmed his heart down.

She observed the man. He must be in his mid fifties. His hair was gray showing last remain of his once brown hair. He wore a green old styled sweater with brown cargo pants. The glasses on his face completed the look. A typical antiquity merchant.

As she didn't answer, he tried again.

"Miss? Is there something I could help you with?" he smiled. One of those false smiles. She heard his pulse quickening. He was getting nervous. Good.

"Indeed, there is something I need. But I'm afraid I couldn't find it in the front." she slightly smirked. Oh how she loved to let her toys sweat.

"Ahh. And, what is it that you need? I'm afraid if it isn't in the front..." she began to slowly step towards him. His breathing picked up.

"Well, I know that you greedy humans tend to hide the most priced items you have, so I ask you, what items do you hide here?" she asked and stopped only a meter in front of him. His gaze turned to the right for a second, but she saw it.

"Miss, I don't know what you're talking about, but..." he stammered, but was cut off as she gripped his neck.

"No more nonsense. Where is the diary of Ruby Berthold?!" she asked him while slightly gripping harder. The man struggled and tried to free himself, not accepting it was useless. He wouldn't give up. Bad decision.

She threw his body away, against the left wall. The whole shelf broke apart, and the man, who hit his head, slumped down unconscious. She walked towards him, and ripped the key he wore around his neck off his body.

She browsed the shelf on the other wall. Throwing the books and boxes away, she finally found a keyhole in the back of shelf. She put the key in it and smirked, and the satisfying noise of an opening lock. The shelf was a door, which clicked open. Nyx opened the door fully, to discover a little chamber with various chests, and showcases filled with priceless items.

But the book in the middle of it gained her attention. There lay in a showcase a used green book with leather binding. "Diary" was written in gold on the cover. Nyx lost no time and smashed the glass.

Opening the book, she saw the first page. "Diary of Ruby Berhold".

Focused on her search she didn't hear the woman until she gasped.

"Grandpa!" a high-pitched voice sounded from the office. Nyx stuffed the book in her bag, she wore on her hip, before she stepped back into the other room. As the door shut behind her the woman's head flew around to her.

"Who are you?! What did you do to Grandpa!" the brunette in a pretty dress exclaimed panicked.

Nyx only smirked and wanted to walk away as the next word of the woman stopped her.

"You monster!" Nyx whole body went rigid. Visions of village people screaming, throwing rocks and a burning house flashed through her mind. Instantly something in her snapped, and her blood boiled, as her anger burned up.

The woman didn't even saw her move before she was gripped by her neck and was thrown through the entire shop out on the streets, where she crashed into the cobblestones of the main street.

The town people began to scream, and gather around the shop frightened. Nyx stepped out of the shop, walking toward the fractured body of the woman.

"What did you just call me?!" she asked the woman in a daring tone. The woman whimpered in pain, and trembled in fear. She stayed silent.

"What did you do to her?!" A man in the crowd stepped forward, and kneeled besides the woman. Nyx's patience was running thin.

""I asked you, what you did to her, you monster?!" he shouted. More visions flashed through her mind, and she felt how her demon blood took over. Power bursted from her, pushing the people back.

"You think I am a monster? You saw nothing yet!" she screamed. Manifesting all around her were multiple black daggers.

* * *

 _"Nyx... wake up. Nyx. Come on. Nyx!" she heard this voice like she was underwater. Like it was thousand meters away. But she felt herself slowly gliding toward it._

 _"Nyx!" she recognized the voice as a friendly one, a voice she could trust. She fought. Struggling her way through the black mass. And then finally a light._

 _With a gasp she regained conscious. Trying to bring air into her lungs she scanned her surroundings. It was daytime and she was in a forest. She sat on the floor. Turning her head to the right, she saw her beloved tutor and friend, Caster._

 _"Caster, what happened?" she asked him, as she couldn't remember how they got here. The demon looked at her if he was trying hard to find something on her face. Then she noticed how stiff he sat beside her. But before she could ask anything he decided to answer._

 _"You don't remember?" he instead asked, in a low voice._

 _"What? What should I remember? The last thing I knew is training with you and then going home..." she tried hard to recall anything besides that,_ _because she has the sudden feeling she was missing something._

 _"They burned down your house." Caster said shortly, while looking intensively at her. Nyx gasped again. Then she remembered._

 _Her house on fire. The burnt body of her mother. Her father sacrificing him for her. The utter sadness she felt._

 _After that she saw only visions, like she is doing something, but doesn't have any control of it. Only the word "revenge" continuously repeating in her mind. Power surging through her veins like never before. Bodies falling before her, tearing them apart. And so much blood._

 _"I murdered them, right? I killed all the people in the village." she said in a steady voice. Guilt spread through her, but didn't took over her entirely. Because she remembered the hate she had felt._

 _"Yes. But that was the demon blood in you. It was powered up by all your negative emotions. It took over, acting on those feelings. But with a little training you can learn to lock it away..." Caster tried to encourage her. He felt relieved, the demon blood did let go of her. But his relief ended soon, as she interrupted him._

 _"Why would I want to lock it away?" she asked indifferent. Caster looked shocked at her. And he saw it in her eyes. They lost all joy and hope. The light was gone._

 _"It gave me so much power. And it was right. Those people murdered my family! They deserved it!" the more she spoke the more the anger in her was fueled up again. But it was removed with shock._

 _SLAP!_

 _Her head flew around. Her cheek stinging and throbbing with pain. Caster slapped her._

 _"Nyx! Hear yourself talking! This isn't you! You sound like a real demon! A monster!" he shouted at her._

 _Those words stung like he just stabbed her heart. Her only friend calling her a monster. He didn't understand the pain she felt. The grief over the loss of her parents. The hate that burned in her for those people. Suddenly the blood in her veins boiled again, and she felt anger like never before._

 _"You don't get it! They humiliated me and my family for months! And then they took everything from me!" she screamed at him and stood up._

 _"Nyx, this is only your demon blood talking! You don't..." he became louder, but somewhat tried to calm her down. But his efforts were gone to waste._

 _"You wouldn't understand! You're just a demon yourself! Without any family, friends or feelings!" after she said that, she felt guilty, but it was overshadowed by her anger. Caster looked stunned. So this is what she thought of him? Yesterday, he wouldn't believe anything she said, but with her burning eyes full of hatred gazing at him, he wasn't sure anymore. This isn't the Nyx he knew._

 _"You're right. I don't understand. Therefore I'm unable to train you any longer. So this will be a goodbye." his voice sounded grave. He looked one last time at her, hoping to see a change in her gaze, but there was still that damned hatred._

 _Caster turned around and walked a few meters, before he opened a portal to another realm._ Stay safe, Nyx.

 _Nyx emotions were running a war inside of her. A immensely guilt and pain tried to take over her heart. She just hurt her only friend and chased him away. But the anger settled at her heart was so intense, it won that round. And Nyx stepped away. Walking to an unknown future._

 _This was the last time she saw Caster._

 _...Fate itself is cruel in it's decisions..._

* * *

She didn't know why this memory came up, when she was standing on the street, surrounded by people, holding up her shadow daggers. But this memory halted her in her movements. Should she really kill all those people?

She looked around and saw fear in those faces. Children grabbing their parents. Woman leaning on their partners. The man who insulted her leaning protectively above the woman.

Maybe those words Caster said so long ago, left an impression. She didn't move but said one word.

"Run." she commanded in a dark voice. The people left no time and obeyed. They began running, taking their childrens with them. The man grabbing the woman in the crater, and carrying her to safety. Pathetic Humans.

After they were all gone, she let her daggers vanish. She sighed. Was she becoming weak and soft?

On her way to the next meeting point with Tertius, she was deep in her thoughts.

Caster never really meant to insult her. Her anger just interpreted it that way. But he was a demon. He wasn't capable to feel any human emotions.

Also that blonde chick appeared in her mind. What did she said? Revenge wouldn't bring back her family. She was right. They were dead. Nothing would bring them back.

But she could at least let humans suffer for their sins.

 _...Those are the facts of the world._

* * *

 ** _Hope you like it!_**

 ** _So this chapter is a look into Nyx's character and her story to understand her motives and behavior better. Next time we'll be with Lucy and co. again!_**

 ** _Regarding to my authors's note at the end of my last chapter:_**

 ** _MissyPlatina is updating her stories again! Apparently it was all a joke or prank. Her writings never did show up anywhere else. (Maybe all those tumblr posts and authors's notes scared him/her too much to do it. In this case: Fairy Tail Fandom, you rock!)_**

 ** _Also a big thanks again, for all those lovely reviews! As well a big hug for those who supported this story with a follow/ favorite. You're the best!_**

 ** _DeborahBee: Thanks for the suggestion. I mailed her the idea. But as you could read above, it all solved itself. But anyway a big thank you for helping!:)_**

 ** _Raising Heart: Danke für die Komplimente und tollen Ideen!:) Leider habe ich Naruto nie gesehen, aber dennoch ist es eine gute Idee! Jedoch hab ich schon einen Plan im Kopf wie die Geschichte ablaufen wird. Hoffe sie gefällt dir trotzdem!:)_**

 ** _Till next time,_**

 ** _Kitty_**


	16. Chapter 15

**Good day/evening (wherever you are), my readers!**

 **This time we're follow Lucy and her friends again!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

When Lucy woke up she noticed that the room, she and Erza were sharing, was still dark. A look out of the window showed her, that the sky was covered with gray clouds which darkened above the horizon. This means it would rain later on. She hoped the other part of their group would arrive, before the heavens open up.

Only hearing soft breathing noises, she looked to her right. Erza, still deep in slumber, was lying next to her on the bed. She was turned towards Lucy, her arms seeming to reach for her. The blonde remembered Erza's habit of snuggling to the next person beside her. Unfortunately for the victim of her snuggling, Erza had even in her sleep a pretty tight grip. Lucy could confirm this.

Concentrating her enhanced hearing sense, she confirmed that the two other males in the next room were still sleeping, too. But she picked up that Laxus breathing was a little bit faster than Natus's which meant he would wake up soon.

The alarm clock on the nightstand ticked a little bit louder. It was 8am. Time for her to get up. The group didn't decide a particularly time to meet, glad they could rest longer than normally, because of the safe surrounding of the hotel, but Lucy was wide awake and decided to begin the day.

After she showered and brushed her teeth she put on her clothes. Finished with getting ready, she sat on the couch on the opposite side of where the bed was standing, and took a meditating pose. She cleared her head, and calmed her breathing down.

Half an hour later Lucy was brought out of her concentration, as Erza moved around, as a clear sign, that she woke up. The red head sighed for a last time and sat up. Immediately her eyes fell on Lucy, who watched her in silent. She twitched slightly. It would have startled every normal person to find his friend staring at him, when he was asleep. Also adding to the mild shock was that Erza had a thing she was trying to hide from her.

"Good morning, Lucy!... How long are you awake?" Erza asked her, while a nervous smile graced her lips. Lucy mustered her friend. She knew Erza only smiled like that, when the redhead was trying to cover something up. Despite her passion for theatre and acting, the swords-woman was a bad actor in real life. She easily fell into a given role, but herself was a another thing. She couldn't hide her true feelings.

"Morning. Not long, I guess half an hour." she answered, while watching Erza getting up and walking into the bathroom.

"Do you know, when the boys will be up?" her question sounded from the other room. The blonde could hear water splashing. She concentrated again on the other room. Natsu snored very loud at this point. He was still asleep. She heard shuffling, which meant Laxus must be up. Then she heard a slapping sound an the snoring immediately stopped and was replaced by swearing. Apparently Laxus woke his fellow Dragon Slayer in an unpleasant way.

"They both awake." she answered.

* * *

The group was having breakfast at the only good restaurant/bar the town had to offer. Natsu and Laxus were already at beating the huge pile of various food they ordered, while Lucy and Erza slowly ate their pancakes. The tavern itself was pretty calm, because not many people were here. Most of the townsfolk were working or on the market streets.

Erza poked her pancake for the third time. She could only eat a little bit of her breakfast. Her stomach wouldn't accept anymore. The reason for that was her nervousness. Because this tavern was the exact same she was the evening before. Her gaze fell on the table across the room, where she had been sitting with Natsu. But Natsu wasn't the problem. Memories after he left sprang to her mind.

 _"Erza, why are you here?" Mest asked in a tone which was slightly demanding. Erza gulped. Normally she wouldn't be intimidated by anyone, but this time it wasn't about her. It was about Lucy. Trying to hide her from the council. Her mind was running wild with ways she could answer to him. Then she remembered, what Jellal advised her to say in this particularly situation._

 _"We couldn't find her in Caelum. But what we found was a clue that she traveled back to Fiore. That's why Natsu and I came back. Gray and Juvia remained there, still searching in case the clue was false." she answered like she spoke to a teacher. One of Mest's eyebrow rose in suspicion._

 _"And what kind of clue was it?" he inquired. Again the red head twitched. She coursed inwardly that they didn't thought about Mest interrogating deeper. Her thoughts were running wild, while she looked around the room. Her eyes fell on the the bartender. It was like a light bulb blinked above her head._

 _"A local shop owner told us that the woman bought supplies for a longer journey. As he asked where her destination was, she answered him that she would travel across the see." her tone was little bit smug, glad she found that explanation. Mest watched her for a moment. She could see he was still unconvinced, but apparently he let it rest._

 _"Ok, and why are you with Laxus and another woman?" he then questioned her. Erza was about to groan. How did he know that? Did he saw them? Did he follow them, and was just asking to see if she would tell him the truth? Did he know of Lucy being the targeted person? She thought about the consequences her lies would bring. If he knew all along, should she tell him the truth? Maybe this would bring better options for all of them. But she didn't know for sure, that Mest knew everything. There was the possibility that he had just saw them entering the town. Not Lucy using her magic, giving her identity away. Then it would be the best to stick with the story. Erza prayed to a heavenly being above her, that Mest knew nothing._

 _"We met them when we arrived in Fiore. They had the same destination as we, so we decided to travel together." she was trying hard to keep her voice even, while her hands gripped her knees more strongly. They stared at each other. Erza's neck was getting hot, and she prayed her cheeks weren't red. Then he sighed._

 _"Well, I have to go. Contact me as soon as you found out more." he said while he stood up. A heavy weight was lifted from Erza's heart. He believed her. Lucy was safe. For now._

 _"See you again soon, Erza." was his last sentence before he vanished through the door. She gulped. While he believed her, this last sentence sounded like a warning. He was suspecting something. She didn't know if she could keep up the lie the next time they met._

* * *

She felt like crying. Erza was a honest person. To suddenly have to lie was against her morals and character. Not only did she have to hide Lucy's identity from the council, she has to keep her attempts at saving the very blonde a secret. This whole thing was messed up. When did everything become so damn complicated?

"Erza, are you alright?" Lucy asked her. Erza winced.

"No, everything's good. Why you're asking?" she tried to say as friendly as possible. She saw out of the corner of her eye how Natsu and Laxus examined her questionably.

"You're just poking your pancake instead of eating it." Lucy said while she posted to her plate. Erza followed her gazed. Damn. She was acting suspicious again.

"Ah, I'm just not that hungry. Don't worry." She smiled at the blonde. Lucy watched her for a second, then concentrated on her food again. Erza sighed inaudibly and was glad her friend didn't ask more.

After they finished their breakfast, the group strolled through the town, exploring the shops. Erza was still with her mind elsewhere, and just followed them, without really taking part in the conversations.

Meanwhile Natsu bugged Laxus to train or fight with him, until the annoyed blonde Dragon Slayer growled that if he won't shut up he would electrocute his sorry ass into the next century. Natsu saw this as a challenge, but was smart enough to stop the bugging. He occupied himself with finding the most ugly pair of earrings, the jewelry shop they currently were in, had to offer, and comparing it to Happy who did the same. The two snickered and made a Fashion show, bringing even the other people in the shop to laugh.

Laxus ignored the circus his fellow Slayer made and browsed through necklaces. His gaze fell on a pair of necklaces, who had nearly the same pendant, and apparently was ment for two people to wear. The pendant on one was a dark blue crystal with golden frame, while the other one had a light blue stone with a silver frame. Apparently his interest in those pieces of jewelry gained the attention of the shopowner, a brown haired lady in her fifties. With a smile she spoke to him:

"Good choice young man. These pair necklaces are handcrafted by mages, and have different magical abilities."

"Magical abilities?" Laxus asked the woman. He couldn't feel any magic about the objects.

"Yes. There are different types of pair necklaces, which each have different spells. The are one for friends, and the one you're looking at for Lovers." She explained. The blonde mage frowned at his ability to accidentally pick the ones for Lovers. The shopowner picked the necklaces up and held them up so he could see them better.

"Once this set is put on, the pendant changes his shape to a form which represents the soul of the owner. Besides that it has the ability to locate his counterpart everywhere on the world." She claimed proudly.

"All the time?" Laxus asked confused.

"No, only when the owner poured a little bit of magic into it."

Laxus thought about it. Unintentionally his gaze fell one the blonde woman across the room, who was trying to stop Natsu from burning the earring who wasn't coming off. Would she like something like this? He stopped his thoughts. Lucy wasn't his lover. And while he wanted to change that, there were more pressing matters at the moment. Trying to heal her soul, for example. Before this wasn't accomplished there was no sense in giving her such gift. And it wasn't like him to do something so mushy as wearing pair necklaces with his girlfriend. But nonetheless he imagined how she would react. He decided to buy those necklaces, and once she could feel emotions again, he would give it to her. Maybe he was becoming soft. But surprisingly it didn't bother him.

The group left the shop and was about to go on, as Lucy suddenly stopped. She turned her head to her side. As her friends wanted to ask her why she stopped she spoke:

"I sense a demon in that direction." And with that she started to run to that direction. The group was fast to follow her. Erza and Natsu were glad she didn't use her magic, or else they wouldn't be able to follow.

The blonde headed right into the forest, which was right next to the town. The group flew through the branches for ten minutes as they reached a clearing. There, Lucy stopped. Laxus and Erza halted immeadiatly while Natsu nearly tumbled over, and then fell over as Happy crashed into his back. Everyone besides Lucy relaxed. There was the other part of the group walking in their direction. Jellal noticed them and smiled. Gray, who saw Natsu falling, laughed loudly at his clumsiness. Everyone was starting to walk to each other. They met in the middle of the clearing, and before anyone could say anything, Lucy was holding her hand up.

"Jellal, why you're bringing a demon with you?" she asked. Jellal had something like a smirk on his lips while Erza, Laxus and Natsu just realized that there was an unknown person behind Gray. They tensed, and slightly took an attacking stand.

"Yes he is a demon, but he is an ally." the blue haired man explained calmly. He turned to the person, who had his hood of his jacket on, so that his face couldn't be seen, and signaled him forward.

The person, who was clothed in a black coat and gray jeans, stepped forward and lifted his hood. Deep black hair was shown. The man had impressive grin eyes with slightly slitted pupils. His ears were slightly pointed. All this let Lucy know that he was a demon who could shift his shape.

"Why did you bring him?" the blonde asked her "mentor". Jellal noticed that she was still tense and ready to pounce at every second. He couldn't blame her, she was trained to slay demons.

"He knows where Azurra's star is." he answered her directly. The others except Juvia, Meredy and Gray gasped. This is where they got the location? From a demon?

"How did you met him? And why did he know what we searched for?" Laxus growled. He saw how that demon punk intently observed Lucy. He couldn't decipher any emotions in those green inhuman eyes, but it was irritating him immensely.

"This is actually a funny story. But first, we should get somewhere more secure." the former wizard saint said. And with that the group started to walk back to the town.

Lucy and Laxus walked behind the demon, and their gaze never left the figure.

* * *

As they arrived at the hotel the half of the group was already staying in, they rented another room. Jell and that demon would sleep in that extra room, while Meredy and Juvia would share Erza's and Lucy's room and Gray would be sleeping in the boys room. After the new arrivals put their backs into the rooms, they gathered in the new one. There they sat on the beds, and on the couch. Rain hit the window of the room. Like Lucy predicted, it started to rain as soon as the group entered the hotel.

It was silent at first, and the room was filled with tension. Even the ones that knew why the demon was here, were still not overall comfortable with him. After all, the mages did make very bad experience with demons.

"Spit it out already, Jellal! How did you met him?!" Laxus began the conversation in a gruff tone. His already short patience was running thin. He didn't like it one bit that a demon was sitting with them and be a potential threat to Lucy and the group.

"Alright. After we followed a trace of Tertius's magic, Gray's Demon Slayer markings appeared, and he said that he could sense a demon. We decided to investigate, as a person jumped on Gray and asked him questions. We stopped him and talked to him, after he stopped resisting. He told us that he is searching a Himmelsjäger." Jellal told the group. Laxus and Natsu growled, thinking he meant Lucy. The demon instead just silently observed the room, before his eyes once more stopped on Lucy.

"Laxus, Natsu, calm down. He doesn't mean Lucy." Gray said in an effort to calm them down.

"But why did he attack you, Gray?" Erza asked concerned.

"Because he sensed my Slayer Magic which apparently has some similarities to the ones of a Himmelsjäger. Obviously because we are both Demon Slayers." the now topless mage answered.

"So after we gathered that he indeed was searching for another one, we thought that if he knew about them, he might as well know something about Tertius or Azurra's star. He said he could bring us to the location. Under one condition." Jellal continued. He looked at the demon, who get the message to tell the rest.

"I want you, Astrael's child, to save Nyx." he spoke in an velvet voice, and directly to Lucy. The blonde pushed the feeling of surprise back. How did he know Nyx? And why does a demon want to save a Himmelsjäger? An enemy of him? Settling with gathering more information first, she asked:

"And who are you?"

"I am Caster. I trained Nyx the art of Demon Slaying." Gasps filled the room. Lucy's mind was running wild. How? Why?

Caster knew that he had to explain some things, in order for the group to understand him, and to fully trust him.

"It all began six hundred years ago, as the great war between angels and demon took place. I was forced to fight, but I never agreed with the goal to annihilate all angels. In my opinion good and bad should hold an equilibrium. So I ran away. Then I met Nocturna, patrem of the Night Demon Slayer bloodline." The demon saw the recognition in Lucy's eyes so he continued.

"She helped me to hide from my race, and we became good friends. Over the years we kept being friends, and occasionally contacted each other. Then ten years ago she contacted me once more, to ask me if I could train her current child. Nocturna's sister was very ill and she feared that she might have no much time left. I agreed."

"I changed my appearance to a ten year old boy to made it easier for her. I would age along with her as long as I would have trained her. But not long after we started her Training, people at her village saw me. A boy with pointed ears and slitted eyes teaching her dark magic. The impression we made on them couldn't be worse. They started to exclude her whole family and calling her names. After this it only got worse."

"They physically mistreated her, by throwing rocks, but they were still unsatisfied. One day they set fire on her house. Her parents were still inside. Both died. Nyx was caught in her sadness and anger, and her demon blood took control. She slaughtered the whole village." Caster sighed and his gaze shifted to the ground. The memory of this was still clearly in his mind. Juvia gasped, while Meredy silently cried. Laxus and Jellal frowned. Natsu and Gray balled their fists. Erza was shocked into stillness. This is what the demon blood could cause? Now she understood Lucy for not wanting it to take control.

"Nyx felt unconscious. I carried her away from the destroyed village, into the woods. As she woke up she couldn't remember at first. But I told her and I saw how all the pain, anger and sadness gripped her again. I told her that it wasn't her fault, that she could learn to control the black blood, but still leaded by those negatives feelings she declared, that she didn't want to learn how to hold it back. She wanted to use it and declared that those people deserved death. A huge dispute happened and I said and did things I immensely regret. But the end of the story is, that I ran away, and left her alone. Alone, without the ability to control the black blood." he ended his story.

"This is tragic, but how exactly should I save her?" Lucy asked emotionless. During the whole story she had to hold so many feelings back. Anger at those villagers. Sadness for Nyx's parents. Horrified by what a twelve year old girl had to endure. But while the onslaught was big, she could push it down.

"She is still under the control of the demon blood. Blinded by her pain and anger she thinks that the whole humanity is her enemy. But your magic could purify her." he said. And again the whole group was confused. Caster noticed it and sighed before he explained.

"The light of the stars have a purifying effect. They illuminate even the darkest night. Apparently this knowledge was lost in your world. But that doesn't matter. You, Astrael's child, are using star magic to slay demons. In other words your are using the light of the stars to destroy the darkness of demons. With the exact same magic you can purify a corrupted heart. This is a ability which ran down the whole bloodline of Astrael's children." Caster explained. Lucy and Jellal could grasp this theory. For the others it made sense, while they couldn't fully understand how this should work.

"I will try it." Lucy promised Caster. He smiled at her.

"Thank you. Of course I'll help you with that. After all I'm responsible, too." his smiled turned into a sad one.

"That's all great, but how did you know, where Azurra's star is?" Laxus asked. He was annoyed that he got Lucy to help him. He couldn't explain why, but he didn't like this demon one bit.

"Azurra is Nocturna's sister." Caster said, his smile gone. He noticed that the blonde mage wasn't fond of him. He smirked as the surprised expression on his face.

"But Azurra's star is an artifact of the spirit world. How did this add up?" Lucy questioned.

"After the great war, many angels stayed on earth. They were fascinated with humans. One of them was Azurra. While the angels were forbidden to mingle with humans, Azurra saw an woman being cornered by men. Despite the rule she helped her. The name of the woman was Ruby Berthold. The two became best friends and later on lovers. But the Great Light, the ruler of the angel's realm found out about it, and brought Azurra back into his realm. Heartbroken she put half of her magic into a crystal like stone, to create an instrument which could produce portals which connected any realms together. This stone is Azurra's star." Caster told the group.

"But how did it end up in the spirit world?" This time Erza asked.

"Nocturna was worried about her sister. Azurra fell ill, due to the absence of her whole magic. Nocturna saw the crystal and she feared that Azurra would be punished more, if the Great Light would catch her. So she took the star and brought it into the spirit realm. She asked the spirit king to hide it from her realm, and to protect it from anyone who would abuse it. The king agreed and hid it here on earth. In the library of the spirit world it only appears as forbidden artifact. Until now, I couldn't find out how Tertius gathered the knowledge of it. Nocturna trusted me, and told me where she and the spirit king hid the star." he explained.

"I agreed on saving Nyx, so now you say where that Star is." Lucy demanded answers.

* * *

 **Hope you like it!**

 **Thanks again for all the lovely and helpful reviews.**

 **And I like to hug all the readers who hit the follow/favorite button! You guys are motivating me so much!:)**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	17. Chapter 16

**I'm allliiiiivveee!.**

 **Sorry for the long wait! My winter break was super hectic, and left no time or inspiration to write. But I plan on getting much done in the next months!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Gray frowned. He was annoyed by the direction things were heading.

The group was traveling for two days and the atmosphere couldn't be worse. He could grab the tension, which was there since the group left the hotel. Natsu and Laxus glared openly at Caster, who got used to it (or decided to ignore it). Erza was a stuttering mess in front of Jellal, and when she wasn't, she was whispering things with Natsu while they looked at Meredy and Lucy. Jellal was rubbing his head to lighten his headache. Lucy was silent.

While he himself was annoyed by the behavior of his traveling group, he had his own reasons to be irritated. Tomorrow they would reach Margarett town, where Lamia Scale was located. And Lamia Scale means he would meet Lyon. While he was happy to meet his "brother" again after a long time, he know that he would be a pain in the ass. Lyon gave up pursuing Juvia, but settled with the overly annoying idea of getting her and Gray to marry. This involvement would only complicate things. Gray began to accept Juvia in his life. While his feelings have still a way to go to become the ones of liking or loving, the two were on a good way. In the year they lived together her crazy behavior decreased, and Gray had the chance to get to know her real persona. He even started to find her weird ways slightly amusing. He don't need Lyon to put crazy ideas into her head.

That's way he wasn't all that happy to see him. But there was no other way because Azurra's star was in Margarett town. Or better said, under it.

"You mean the crystal is under the town?!" Erza asked Caster. After he told the location at the inn, he said he want to continue explaining on the move to the town. Safety measures, Gray guessed. But until now he wouldn't speak, to everyones' annoyance.

"Yes. Margarett town is divided into three parts by a river, before the separated breaches are flowing back together. The middle part of the town has a canalization structure. Somewhere in there is a treasure chamber, which was built by the first mayor of the town. But the knowledge of it's existence was long forgotten. The Spirit king used this to his advantage and hid the crystal there. Afterwards he changed the history books of the spirit world and proclaimed in it, that the star was an artifact of the spirit world since the beginning. He did that to make sure the Great Light would never find out that Azurra, an angel, created it." Caster explained.

"So the crystal is in a treasure chamber somewhere in the canalization under the town. Should be rather easy to find it then, right?" Natsu asked. The others thought so too, but couldn't shake the suspicion that it wouldn't be so simple to find it.

"I'm afraid, no. First, the canalization is huge in itself. Moreover it has no orderly build. It is easy to get lost down there. Secondly, I don't think the Spirit king just put it there. When it isn't the case it's hidden, it will be most likely protected by magic." Caster said with a frown.

"So we don't know what will awaits us once we found it." Lucy concluded. The demon nodded. The group went silent, everybody deep in thoughts. They kept silent till they decided to stop and rest for the night.

They were sitting in front of the camp fire eating, when Jellal spoke up.

"In order to first find the chamber, we have to get a plan of the canalization. I'm sure there will be documents in the town hall. But how to get it? I don't think the major will openly hands us them. We're a group of strangers, unable to tell him the reasons why we would go down there." he presented his thoughts.

"Either we sneak in and steal a plan, or we ask Lamia Scale." Lucy brought up. Erza scoffed at this. She was against committing a crime, but when she looked around she was the only one disturbed by the idea. So to lead the things to the right way she asked.

"What do you mean by asking Lamia Scale?"

"The guild could have a good relationship with the mayor. From articles in magazines and papers, the mages must have a good relationship with the town and citizens. This could include the mayor. Moreover, we have to warn them. When we know the location of the crystal it could be that Tertius knows, too. While we are down there, we won't see him coming. I want that the guild is on the watch and able to immediately evacuate the citizens if he shows up." Lucy declared.

She know this was a risk. But there was no other way. There were too many unknown factors. If they would evacuate the city as soon as they arrive, panic would break out. If Tertius then never showed up, Lamia Scale would loose his reputation. This would mean they would no longer getting jobs. But if he showed up they have to get the people out of the town. She couldn't predict the behavior of the Fallen, but from what Lucy knew he despised humans. There is a high chance that he would harm them. And when it was not that, the citizens would be hurt in the fight.

Lucy decided to ask Lamia Scale. They know their town and the inhabitants the best. Maybe they would come up with an even better solution.

"So it's decided. We will visit Lamia Scale." Laxus resumed. They all nodded.

"I heard Wendy joined them! It will be great to see her again!" Juvia said happily.

"Really?! Awesome!" Natsu joined in. While he, the bluenette and Happy imagined how much she must have changed, and Happy had hearts in his eyes by the thought of seeing Charle again, Jellal spoke up.

"But wait. Jura is in Lamia Scale." Erza stiffened.

"And?" Natsu asked bewildered. What is so special about it?, the pink haired mage thought.

"Jura is one of the ten Wizards Saints, who were chosen to be the new council." Jellal explained, knowing Natsu didn't know that.

"Right. He may know about the council searching for Lucy." Gray said.

"Doesn't matter if he know or not. If he's a council member he will be at their headquarters. This is a full time job." Laxus threw in.

"You're right. The members barely leave their office, since their whole system and organization had to be rebuild after it was destroyed." Erza argument, while holding her chin. How could she forgot? Is she really so afraid of the council by now?

"Good. But to make sure, I will hide my magic and give no clue that I'm the wanted person." Lucy closed the discussion.

The tension in the group lessened. They finished eating and talked about nonchalant things.

Laxus was watching over Lucy, who meditated. His gaze would often switch to Caster, who also watched the blonde female. The Lightning mage frowned but didn't say anything. Juvia massaged Gray's back, as the raven haired man was deep in his own thoughts. Natsu was complaining in front of Jellal, that the blue haired man was the cause that the pink haired man had debts to Laxus. Meredy and Happy were watching and snickering. Erza saw that as her chance.

The red haired mage stood up.

"Meredy? Would you come with me? I want to wash some of my clothes in the river, but I would like some company." she spoke to the ex-ciminal. Meredy was surprised. She liked Erza, but they weren't that close. Shrugging, she stood up and nodded while she smiled. Maybe Erza just wanted to get to know her better.

Gray who was watching silently, observed the scenario. Erza was not the type who asked for company, especially when it was a task she could handle by herself. That woman was proud as that. So she wanted Meredy to follow her for other reasons. Maybe to talk about something private? But they hardly know each other. The ice mage glanced to Jellal who also glanced at the two women. Gray could see the confusion in his eyes. But Jellal was quickly switching his gaze back to the Fire Dragon Slayer, who was now proclaiming that Jellal should pay his debt. Gray saw the two woman walk away into the forest.

Whatever. Maybe it was about the crush the red head has on the mysterious ex-council member. He dismissed the matter and continued to gaze into the flames of the campfire.

* * *

"So Ultra tickled you? And then shoved chili into your mouth? No wonder Jellal couldn't handle all this." Erza snickered.

She and Meredy were slowly walking through the forest. The moonlight was bright, so the two had no trouble to see. The river nearby and their chattering was the only thing to break the silence.

"I know, right? It felt like my head would explode any minute!" Meredy laughed. The bubblegum haired woman thought that Erza was really nice. While she heard stories of the stern and powerful Titania, the woman who was walking beside her was having an older sister vibe, and the loss she felt about Ultear's disappearance lessened.

"Speaking of your magic... I have to ask you for a favor." Erza said with a sudden serious expression. Her older sister vibe vanished.

"You see, Natsu and I found an interesting book in the library. And we think that this could be the key to heal Lucy's soul." Erza's gaze locked with her's. Determination clashed onto Confusion.

"What?" was the only thing the young mage could come up with. Healing Lucy's soul? But the blonde always said it would be to dangerous. The process itself very hard, and when she fail her demon would take over, or worse, she could die. How could Erza want to risk this?

"Show me the book." Meredy ordered. Her sweetness gone. While people often assumed she was naive and an airhead, they were right as long as her friends wouldn't be threatened. Then the ex-criminal would get furious. It often scared herself.

Erza didn't expect that sort of behavior of the the lively mage. So to calm her down she activated her magic and teleported the book out of her dimension into her hand. Without hesitation she hold it out for the pink haired woman to grab.

Meredy took the book and gave it a scrutinizing look. The title "Healing the souls and other spells" was not an overall convincing title, but she opened it anyway. She had to remind herself to be open for any suggestions. While she was still very cautious, because such spells could cause Lucy to suffer, it also could be the solution.

Meredy did regular checkups on Lucy's cor obice. She never saw magic like that before, and she doubt any human mage could cast something like this. But she studied it enough to get an idea on how it worked.

Flipping through the pages she stopped on a chapter her eyes caught. Sitting down on the next stump she scanned the text which was written under the title "Soul body Transfer".

Erza watched the pink haired woman read the book. She was still stunned by the sudden change in mood the normally uplifted mage showed. Didn't she want to help Lucy? No, this couldn't be it. So it has to be something different. Erza knew that Meredy was supervising Lucy's strange wall around her heart. So maybe there was something they don't know?

Shifting on another leg Erza sighed. The uncomfortable silence was broken as Meredy spoke up.

"Can I ask you a question? Why do you want to do heal Lucy's soul? You know the risks, right? So why do you risk that Lucy could die?" she said while she hold Erza's eyes with a hard look. The red haired gasped.

"I would never want for Lucy to die! I want to help her! This is why I searched for a way that wouldn't be harmful to her!" Erza exclaimed. The two hold their gazes for a few seconds, before Meredy's shifted back to the page.

"Good." was her only answer and the words were stuck in Erza's throat. Meredy really believed she wanted to harm her friend, her little sister? She was hurt for a second before her guilt caught up. She did hurt her before, when all of them left. No surprise that Meredy didn't trust her fully.

"I know we did wrong before and hurt her, but this is why I want to help her! I would do anything to save my friend! And I will find a way! Even if it takes hundred years to search a solution!" The red haired shouted and it was Meredy's turn to be surprised and speechless. She didn't know Erza was this determined and passionate about it. Meredy realized that she wouldn't do it any different if she was in this situation. She decided to help Erza. Maybe they could find a way to bring back Lucy's soul without risking any negative side effects.

"Well, let me read this book. Maybe there is something useful in it." Meredy smiled a little. Erza blinked, then smiled right back. She was convinced that together they would accomplish saving their beloved friend.

* * *

"Lucy?" Gray asked.

"Hmm?" the blonde turned to her friend which was sitting on the opposite log.

"I would like to ask you something I was thinking about a long time." The ice mage leaned forward and leaned his arms on his own legs. Surprised by those words Juvia and Laxus glanced between them. Juvia was plotting her love rival's demise in her head while Laxus was thinking about ways a death could be very slow and very painfully.

"Sure. Ask me want you want." Lucy answered, and ignored the weird behavior of the others two mages.

"When the first Demon Slayers were created by angels, how can it be that my father and now I are possessing this magic? My father said he learned it, but this doesn't add up." Gray said, and Lucy caught the downward gaze when he mentioned his late father. Meanwhile Laxus was irritated that he caught Gray's intentions wrong and remind himself to not be this childish. Juvia was happy and far ahead in her own LaLaLand were everything was pink.

"I never thought about it before. Astrael didn't mentioned it, and I'm afraid I have no idea." Lucy said indifferent. Gray frowned.

"Simple. You inherited the magic." Suddenly Caster spoke. Lucy and Gray turned to him. He was laying on his side on the ground and wore a bored look with closed eyes.

"Inherited? But I'm not a Himmelsjäger like Lucy and my magic type is different. Also my casts are different." Gray argued.

Caster opened one eye and glanced at the ice mage.

"Stupid human." he spat and sat up.

"Who are you calling stupid, demon?!" Gray shot back and balled his fists.

"You. Astraea's child here told you the story, right? The blood which carried the power of the angels and demons was woven into the DNA of the first Himmelsjäger. Every next generation was born with it, it was not given to them. But not every generation had only one child. The DNA was spreading into more than the main four lineages. While the power only sprang to one child, traces of it would be still in their siblings blood. You're lineage must go over many generations back to one of the four original Himmelsjäger." Caster explained like it was obvious.

"But even if I inherited traces of this blood and power, how could my father use it?" Gray was not amused on how he was treated like a dumb child.

"Was he in any contact with demons?" Caster just asked and ignored Gray's angry attitude. Gray's fist clenched his fists even harder.

"Yes. After he was killed by one, he was resurrected by another and forced to work for them." he spat out. Juvia lay a hand on his shoulder with a downcast expression. The wounds of both of them weren't healed just yet. Caster noticed the tension and continued in an normal tone instead of his snotty one.

"This caused the angels and demons blood traces in him to act up. The power of the blood and his own magic core mixed together. Your father must've noticed it and learned to use it. I saw this case before."

"This might be right, but he gave it to me through a seal. A mark." Gray said in a bitter voice. Caster watched him for a second.

"No, he didn't gave it to you through a mark. He activated the power in you through it." He said. Gray looked up surprised.

"This old man... Even when he's dead he only tells half of the story." he ruffled through his hair while sighing. Juvia smiled silently while still rubbing his shoulder.

"Does this mean he's somehow related to Lucy?" Laxus asked now interested in the topic.

"No, it must be another one. Lucy's magic is based on light. I guess it could be Nyx's ancestor or Luna's child." Caster mused.

"Luna?" Juvia asked perplexed.

"Luna the angel of the moon. Her magic has the traits of controlling water and Coldness. Therefore it has to be her child."

"Now you mention it, where are the other two Himmelsjäger? There magic must have been activated, right?" Laxus brought up another question. Caster watched him before he turned to Lucy.

"Your watchdog has at least brain, he's not all muscles. I have to give that to him." The demon said mockingly to Lucy. Laxus eyebrow twitched while he growled. Before the blonde could get violent Lucy spoke up.

"Of course he's smart, along with other great traits. Also, I would like for you to call him by his name." she spoke with an indifferent facial expression, which let the other group members shiver. Laxus just openly stared at her in wonder. Not only did she defend him, but she complimented him. He couldn't stop the warm feeling which was spreading in his chest.

* * *

 **Hope you like the chapter! Please leave a review of what you think!**

 **I like to thank all of you awesome people who read and stayed with the story until now!**

 **Also a big thanks for all of the lovely reviews, and suggestions!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	18. Chapter 17

**Hello, fellow readers!**

 **So after I finished all of my exams, I finally had time to continue this story. I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

As the sun rose to announce a new day, the group of two ex-criminals, a council agent, a Himmelsjäger, four ex-guild mages and a demon arrived at Margarett town.

The town itself was smaller than Magnolia. The buildings were mostly build with wood, only the inner parts had houses with a regular brick-build. The sound of the flowing river was overshadowed by the bustling of the inhabitants. Where Magnolia's citizens were calm and relaxed the people in this town were hectic and energetic.

"Guys! Look at this!" Natsu suddenly proclaimed. He was standing in front of placard.

"What is it dumb... What?!" Gray tried to insult Natsu as he shoved him aside only to stop at what he saw on the poster.

The group surrounded the placard, and were all stunned by what they saw.

Chelia and Wendy dressed in cute dresses and fake wings on their back. Both held microphones to their mouths as their were singing. Written over their heads were "The Sky Sisters! Love until death!".

"The Sky Sisters? What is this?" Erza asked the group.

"Wendy became a pop star..." Juvia stated riddled.

"What did they do to poor Wendy?! They dragged her to the dark side!" Natsu angrily proclaimed.

"Shut up, retard!" Gray punched the flame mage. Before a full fight could start, Laxus spoke up.

"Only one way to find out what all of this is. Let's head to Lamia Scale." he announced.

After walking through the main part of the city the group reached the large building which was the Lamia Scale. Two stone mermaids at the entrance and a big sign over the door announced the wizard guild.

Before anyone could stop him, Natsu burst right through the double doors.

"Give Wendy back!" he angrily shouted. Laxus was quick and knocked him out with a punch to his head. The room they entered was huge and similar to the Fairy Tail Guild. It had a big bar and many tables with chairs. On the right side was the Request board. Many doors led to other rooms. The members of Lamia Scale, scattered around the bars and the tables, all stopped what they're were doing and turned to the door by the sudden shouting.

"Excuse this idiot. Is your master here?" Erza politely spoke.

"Hey, it's Fairy Tail!" Tobi shouted. He was still wearing his socks as a necklace.

"I knew your Guild wasn't over." Yuka said as he stepped to the group. Laxus noticed that his ridiculous eyebrows became even larger.

"I see no ring, Gray. Did you chickened out?" Lyon approached Gray with a smirk. Gray sighed while Juvia looked confused between the two ice mages.

"Shut your trap, bastard." the raven haired man answered. For a second everyone though the argument would escalate, but to their surprise the two bro-fisted each other.

"Good to see your ugly face again." Lyon said smiling.

"You know you need me to pounce in yours once in a while." Gray shot right back. Despite their harsh words, they both were happy to see each other again. No matter what hardships or difficulties they both had alone or with each other, they were still brothers, brought up by the same teacher. Both of them had each others back.

"And you brought Jellal and Meredy?" Yuka asked. Meredy smiled, while Jellal kept his cool gaze.

"No that you mentioned it, you're a weird group. I never saw all of you as one group. And who is that?" Lyon asked as he noticed Caster who looked bored.

"This is Caster. And we're all on a mission." Lucy said indifferent. The grey haired ice mage was startled. He know Lucy as a bubbling character. To sound this emotionless was different from her normal behavior. Some things changed over one and a half year, he guessed.

"Ok, and what are you here for? Wait, why don't you all have a seat and eat something while you explain?" Lyon invited them. Lucy nodded, and the group settled down at a table which was big enough for them all.

Once everyone had something to eat, Lyon asked again.

"What can we do for you?"

"Actually we search for an artifact. We located it to be in this city." Lucy began.

"But if it's here, why do you need our help? Couldn't you just get it?" Yuka threw in.

"Well, that's our problem. It is under the city in the canalization." Laxus said.

"And we need your help with getting an map of it." Erza added. She still hoped they could get their hands on a map without committing a crime like stealing. Lyon and Yuka looked a little baffled by that weird request. After a few silent seconds of staring Lyon answered.

"Maybe it is the best to ask the master..." he started but was interrupted by the loud sound of opening doors and girl's laughing. Once the group saw who entered the guild, they gasped.

"You totally owned them Wendy!" a short woman with pink twin tails said, better known as Chelia.

"No, without you I couldn't have done it." the more silent voice of Wendy, the dark blue haired Sky Dragon Slayer answered.

"Stop that bashful behavior. Be more confident!" a girl next to them two said. She was at the same height as Wendy and was wearing a skirt and a blazer over a blouse. But the most outstanding would be her white hair which was laying around cat ears and the white tail the girl had.

"Wendy!" Erza exclaimed excited. Erza saw in Wendy her long lost little sister she had to protect. She was glad to see that she was doing fine over the long time they all were apart. The girl in question turned surprised by the known voice to the group who stood up.

"Erza-san?! And all of you!" the young mage had a big smile on her face and a few tears in her eyes. She was happy to meet her friends again. In that moment Natsu woke up from his involuntarily sleep. He immediately smelled Wendy and turned to her.

"Wendy! Great to see you again!" he steeped in front of her with a big grin.

"Natsu-san! It is really great to see..." she was cut off as the Fire Dragon Slayer lifted her over his shoulder.

"Great, now I'll take you back!" he was about to left the building, but was immediately stopped by Lyon and Yuka with a "Hey!"

"Is that you Carla?" Gray asked the question the rest of the group had.

"Yes. Over the year I learned transformation magic. Comes in very handy. It increases my physical and psychic powers. And what did you learned, male cat?" she turned after her explanation to Hapyy, who was still flabbergasted.

"I... I learned how to eat not as much fish as before!" he exclaimed proudly. Gray and Laxus rolled their eyes. Lucy would done it too, if she still had emotions.

Wendy, Chelia and Carla took some stools and settled down at the same table.

"So what is up with the Sky Sisters? Are you two now working as idols?" Gray asked the two friends.

"No, it's just a marketing strategy master came up with. On our Thanksgiving-parade we did last year she came up with the idea and since then it took off. Once in a while we give concerts, but only if it doesn't interrupt our work as mages." Chelia answered him. After that they caught up on what Wendy was doing since the disbandment of Fairy Tail.

"It's so good to see all of you again, but if I may ask, what are you doing here?" she timidly asked. The group turned to Lucy. They didn't know if Wendy should know the whole story, and even if they wanted to tell her, they still were surrounded by Lamia Scale. It's best not to let them know that Lucy was a wanted person.

"We're all on a voluntary mission. The object is to eliminate a powerful man. For that we are searching an artifact the man needs." Lucy answered truthfully. She let out the details that the man was in fact an fallen angel, who wants to destroy humanity, aided by a Demon Slayer who gone rouge.

"Right, you need the plans. I'll bring you to the master's office, Lucy." Lyon stood up. Lucy did the same. The others knew she could handle that matter, and it wouldn't make sense for all of them to go. Laxus stood up as well and followed her. He still was somewhat her bodyguard, he tried to convince himself, but in reality he just wanted to be by her side and be able to defend her at any time. Not that he expected danger here in the guild, but he heard of the crazy old master who was leading Lamia Scale. She had a weird habit of spinning people. It was best to watch out she wouldn't spin Blondie until she throws up.

Wendy watched the two walking away with curiosity. Were Lucy and Laxus always this close? But not only that surprised her but Lucy's behavior totally changed. The always smiling and warm woman had no expression or emotion on her face or in her voice. Now that she thought about it her magical aura was totally different. Wendy couldn't feel any magic in her.

"Did Lucy-san changed over the one and a half year?" she asked the group. She saw the guilt in their eyes as they tried to avoid her gaze. This only confirmed that something wasn't right.

"You see... Lucy is a condition were her feelings are closed off. She can't feel any emotions." Erza began to explain.

"What?! How?" Wendy was worried. Lucy was always a big sister to her. To suddenly hear that she couldn't feel anything worried her deeply. Maybe she could try to heal her.

"It's best if she explains it to you." Gray said somewhat in a unhappy voice.

* * *

"Master Babasama? Are you there?" Lyon asked after he knocked on the door with the sign of the master's office. Behind him standing and waiting were the two blonde mages.

"Come in!" the grouchy old voice of the master ordered. Lyon didn't hesitate to open the door.

"Master, we have visitors who would like to talk to you." the silver haired mage announced. He steeped to the side and let Lucy and Laxus enter the office. It was a rather big room, kept in light colors. Shelves loaded with books filled one of the walls and the other side was decorated with pictures of people. Under the pictures were standing two couches. In the middle of the room was standing a big desk, which was shone upon with light from the big windows on the opposite wall of the door.

"Ahhh! Who we have here? If it isn't Makis dear grandchild. And another one of his pretty little girls he keep collecting in his guild." Obabasama acknowledged the two. Laxus was not amused. He knew that his grandfather had a good relationship with this old hag, but he didn't know to which extend, and he didn't even want to know. But to call the females of Fairy Tail pretty little girls was like an insult. Clearly they had the most beautiful woman in their guild, but they could serve your ass on a plate at any moment. They're were strong and not to be underestimated. He learned that the hard way.

"Greetings, Obabasama." Lucy ignored the rant of the old woman and greeted her politely. Or as politely as you can get with and indifferent voice. Laxus just nodded. He know he should work on his social skills, especially if he want to be the guild master one day, but this old hag just annoyed him.

"Welcome, Fairy Tail. Or should I say Ex-Faity Tail? Doesn't matter. What can I do for you?" she asked, and Laxus had to keep his growl down and the mentioning of the disbandment. It was still a sour subject for him. But in order to get what they want, they had to play nice.

"My friends and I are searching an artifact, which we located in this city. To be more specific, in the canalization." Lucy began to explain.

"What? Down there, in those dirty and stinking rat hole, is an artifact? And you seriously want to go down there in this maze?" she asked unbelieving.

"Yes. And that's why we wanted to ask you if you have a plan of it. Or if you could get one from the major." the blonde female came to the main question. Obabasama wasn't answering. For long seconds she held her clasped hand in front of her mouth and just stared at them both. Laxus's patience was running thin, and just before he lost it, the old hag started to talk.

"What kind of an artifact are we talking about? Is it magical?" she asked in a sudden serious, but also suspicious voice.

"No, it's just a prized crystal. But we have to retrieve it before our enemy can." Lucy answered. Laxus was confused for a second. Normally he could recognize a lie by hearing the heart beat of the person. But even as he know that Lucy lied, he couldn't hear it. Her body didn't show any reaction, like it would normally do.

Lucy didn't like to lie, but in this case it was necessary. She didn't want to drag anyone into the mess, her group was dealing with. The eyes of the old female narrowed.

"This enemy of yours... is he dangerous?" she asked. Laxus tensed up.

"He is. This is why my next plea would have been to hold your guild ready to evacuate the city if he does show up." Lucy explained. She know that she couldn't lie about that. Too many lives were endangered if she didn't warn them about Tertius.

"With this I'm not asking you to fight in our favor. I just want to make sure no people uninvolved get hurt." The blonde assured the female master.

After that there was a long silence again. The gray-haired female was slowly rubbing her chin while her eyes gave no emotion or thought away. Laxus was a little bit nervous, while Lucy thought of other plans.

"You come to my city, into my guild and not only did you want something from me, but you are endangering the whole city by leading an dangerous person here?" Obabasama accused them both. Tension was filling the air. Laxus was getting ready to either protect themselves or argue back. But Lucy beside him remained calm and calculating.

"We doesn't endanger anyone. Our enemy would come sooner or later to this town, to get the artifact. It is even better that we are here, so you got extra forces, who know the enemy." Lucy argued. The old hag thought about that for a minute before she sighed.

"Well, I guess I have the plan." she told them.

"Really? I mean that's good, but If I may ask, why do you have it?" Laxus asked. The tension fell off he was a little bit surprised. Even Fairy Tail didn't have any sort of plans on Magnolia.

"At one of our Thanksgiving parades we needed to install lacrima in the canalizations, so we could let the carriages float. We still have the plans." she answered arrogantly.

"That's very good. Can we have it then?" Lucy asked. This would spare them a lot difficulties. Besides, she was glad they came to an agreement. It was more convenient for both sides.

"Yes, you can have it. But with one condition." the old hag smirked. Laxus gulped.

* * *

"So you can control your Dragon Force now? That's awesome!" Natsu praised the little Dragon Slayer. Wendy blushed, but nodded.

The group and Wendy and Carla were still sitting at the table in the guild. The other member of Lamia Scale left it in order for the friends to catch up in private. They told each other of what they had been doing after they all had separated.

"Thank you." Wendy shyly accepted the compliment. The next moment the two blondes returned to the table. The whole group stopped their conversation and stared at Laxus.

The blonde Dragon Slayer wore a look on his face, as if he went to hell and back and just wanted to gulp down bleach. Lucy beside him was emotionless as ever, but she looked at Laxus, as if she wanted to assured he was fine.

"What the heck happened?! Did you not get the plan?" Gray asked unsettled. For the big tough Dragon Slayer to look like he saw the most terrible thing, was such an unusual thing to see. Most of the time the blonde had an grouchy or bored look on his face. Gray never saw any other emotions on his face. Something really bad must have happen to him.

"Don't wanna talk about it. All that matters is, that we got the plan." Laxus nearly growled. So it was something he didn't want anyone to know. And Gray was smart enough to didn't dwell any further. Natsu, on the other hand, wasn't.

"Oh, come on! I wan't to know what happened!" the overly nosy fire mage complained. Gray wanted to sigh out loud, but just as he took a breath, there was a blinding light and a loud crackling sound of thunder mixed with a short scream of pain.

In a mere second Natsu was lying on the ground, electrocuted to a crisp. The others of the group, besides Lucy, winced. They thought Natsu learned from all the other times he annoyed Laxus, but apparently he wasn't that smart.

Gray just looked at Lucy, which immediately felt his gaze. Gray raised an eyebrow, to ask her what happened to their Lighting mage, but Lucy just slightly shook her head. She wouldn't talk. He guessed Laxus already influenced her, to not loose a word about that matter. So much for that.

"Anyway, we got the map. Let's start planning." Jellal shifted the attention to the more pressing matters.

* * *

Lucy took a deep breath. In and out. Get the control back.

The blonde woman stood outside of the guilds building, on the terrace of the back of it. From inside she could hear loud, cheery voices which sounded like happy people enjoying their beer. The terrace was dimly lit by the light from inside, and she was the only one who was there.

The blonde woman needed to get out for a moment and catch fresh air. The reason for that was the sound of the Sky Dragon Slayer.

After the group decided on a plan of attack, Wendy started to ask questions. Lucy knew this wouldn't end well, but her calculating, emotionless self assumed that to tell her the truth would be the best. Lies always ended in hurt feelings, and trouble, which could be avoided. So she told the tiny Dragon Slayer her whole story.

Sometimes Lucy thought about how the corobice changed her. All decisions she chooses were purely build on logic. No emotions. No heart. Her old self would have always took the path of what felt right for her and her righteous ways. Her current self knew her ideals, but would pick logic first. Would this be her character from now on?

So after Wendy heard the whole story, she broke down. She cried and apologized over and over for leaving, even if it wasn't her fault. And the tears and whales of the little girl did something to Lucy.

The blonde noticed that the amount of sadness which pushed against her inner wall, was way bigger than anything before. Her chest began to hurt, like something was stabbing her and sweat started to cover her skin. She knew she had to get out of there and gain back the control.

This is why she now stood outside and was focusing her mind and resolve.

After a minute she felt the pain in her chest lessen, and her body cooled down. She let out a long breath. This was close. Too close.

The feelings were getting stronger. She didn't know how long the wall could withstand them. She concluded that her feelings were strengthened by the presence of her friends. But what could she do? She couldn't send them away. She needed their help to defeat Tertius. And even if she was strong enough, they wouldn't leave her. Especially not Laxus, who was ordered to accompany her, by Mavis.

She could only try to maintain control. There was no other way for now.

Lucy took a last deep breath before she turned around to get back in. But a massive body blocked her way. Looking up she meet the concerned eyes of the Lightning Dragon Slayer. She was so deep in thought, that she didn't hear his approach.

"Laxus. What are you doing here?" she asked him in her neutral voice.

"I could ask the same Blondie. You suddenly stood up and headed here without any explanation. Is something wrong?" he asked her trying to sound unfazed, but she heard the slightly worried undertone. And the feelings clashed on her wall again. This was not good. This man right in front of her, was the one who brought out the most emotions to push against her caged heart. It was a warm and comforting emotion, which she had a hard time pushing off.

"Blondie?" he tried again while waving his hand in front of her face, after she didn't answer and just stared at him. Lucy took a deep breath.

"I just needed to get a cool breeze. It's very hot inside." she explained. Laxus raised an eyebrow. But he heard that she told the truth. Even if it wasn't all there is to this, he assumed. But he wouldn't press the matter. When she was ready to talk she would tell him.

"If you say so..." he shrugged.

"I would have guessed you would have done that, after what happened in the master's office." she told him. Laxus immediately growled, while his face turned into a frown.

"Shut up. I told you not to speak about it again." he warned her. He knew she wouldn't tell anyone, and even if she did, he wouldn't do anything to her, but his pride demanded to warn her.

"I know. But it isn't something you see every day. A crazy old guild master who is rubbing up a mage's abs just to feel them. But I guess I should have seen it coming with her." Lucy said. While she said it indifferent, Laxus knew the old Lucy would tease him with it. Was her old self shining through? After he remembered what she said he frowned even more, but couldn't hold the slight smirk completely off.

"Just shut up."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**

 **There will be more action the next chapter, and it is going to be really intense soon! ;)**

 **Hope you enjoyed it so far, and as always I like to thank all of you who are reading this story and support it with follow/ favorites and reviews! Without all of you I would have lost my motivation!:)**

 **And yeah I knew there was LaLu Week, but with all my exams, I couldn't find time in between the learning to sit down and write. And I don't like to rush writing or to put up half attempts of stories just so i have something. When I write I put all of my concentration, inspiration and fantasy into it, and while I was learning there was no room for that in my head. Maybe I write some One-Shots instead.**

 **Alaina Kuski: I hope I kept on being interesting for you:)**

 **rebecca taylor: Your smile is appreciated!**

 **NeverlandRunt: Thank you:)**

 **AomeAzakura : Thank you so much! It is always great to hear that someone is looking forward to new chapter!**

 **Gothazon: I'm happy you like Caster :)**

 **swallowmysoul: Oh, thank you! reviews like yours always made my day:) I'm glad the characters I created are accepted by you guys, as well as the story. And like I wrote at the beginning, I'm trying to improve my english with this, so if you guys find mistakes, tell me!:)**

 **amberlincoln: You're cute, for leaving a review:)**

 **Moonlight Starlove: Glad you enjoy it :) Yeah, that ship really grew on me ;)**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	19. Chapter 18

**HAllO! (german)**

 **My inspiration keeps flowing and here is the next chapter!**

* * *

"Ok, so everyone got the plan?" Jellal asked his group with a serious expression. Collective nodding.

"Good, so let's start."

The clocktower nearby announced with a booming gong that it was eight o' clock in the morning. Just a few people were roaming the streets and it was much more quiet than yesterday. The sky was gray, and the thick clouds didn't let any sun rays through. While it wasn't raining it could start at any time.

The group was standing in front of one of the many openings that would led to the canalization. It was located at the side of one river channel. The wooden door looked very old, with moos at the edges. The air down there was damp, caused by the river and the rather cold weather.

Jellal opened the door, and the rotten wood nearly broke apart. They all entered. Now, they were standing in a square room. It was barely lit by the gully which led to the street above them and the dampness in the air was stronger. It was built with bricks which were covered with water stains. To the right, to the left and in front of them were three passages, which led to different tunnels.

"So, every team gets one map and one light lacrima. Lucy, Laxus and Caster, you will take the right tunnel. Erza, Natsu, Happy and Meredy the left one. And Gray, Juvia and I will take the last one in the middle." Jellal instructed while he gave the mentioned items to each group.

The plan was to split up in three groups. Each group would walk one path they marked on each map. This way they would cover more ground, because they didn't know were the chamber with the star was located. The lacrimas weren't only there as a light source. They were connected. If one of the group found the chamber, they will send a green light through their lacrima to the other ones. If one of the teams was having trouble, each team has a different color they would send. Lucy's team was yellow, Jellal's blue and Erza's red.

"If the worst case happen, and one of our teams run into trouble, send your color light. We will immediately abort the mission and head back to our starting point. There we will take the route of the team in danger, and try to help them." The blue haired ex-criminal explained further.

"Remind me, why didn't we got normal communication lacrimas?" Gray asked.

"Because they wouldn't work down here. They were founded way later than those tunnels were build. The walls have such a structure, that they wouldn't let the magic and signal through. These lacrimas are working with another type of connection which actually can connect through these thick walls." Lucy explained.

"Anyway, if one of our teams sends their color we have persons in each team which can move with fast speed. Jellal with his Meteor magic. Lucy with her sort of Meteor magic, Laxus with his lightning and Erza with her speed armor." Meredy mentioned. They all nodded.

"Great. We will search until the clock strikes eight o' clock in the evening. Let's move out." Jellal gave the sign. The different teams began to walk down the different tunnels.

* * *

"This canalization stinks way too much!" Natsu complained.

"We got it the first three times you mentioned that." Erza beside him scolded the Dragon Slayer. Meredy sighed.

They were walking on a way along a narrow canal, which had water flowing in it. Erza guessed that the unappealing smell comes from the most likely wastewater in the canal. She didn't dare to inspect the water further.

The path was dark, only every three hundred meters was a little light source from a gully. And Meredy swore she saw a rat crawling over their feet one or two times.

After another ten minutes the tunnel ended in a dead end.

"Mark that tunnel as empty." Erza announced, as she marked the map, because she was in charge of it. Natsu held the lacrima up so she could see the plan. The group turned around and started to walk back.

"That only leaves the fourth path." Ezra concluded while observing the map. Just after 300 meters after they started walking the tunnels split into four more. Three of them were dead ends. They knew the tunnels ended, but regardless they had to search in each of them.

"For how long were we walking? It seems to me as when we were here for a whole day." Natsu asked annoyed. He expected way more excitement on their search, but until now he was disappointed.

"Four hours. And now quit your complaining. That doesn't help us." Erza ordered him. Natsu frowned. Even Happy was no help as he was sleeping while he hung over Natsu's shoulder.

It took thirty minutes to walk back to the split up. Taking the last unexplored tunnel they continued their search. On the map the tunnel they were walking at that moment, was the longest one. To distract Natsu from the bad smell, Erza sparked up a conversation.

"So after I talked to her, Meredy agreed on helping us." the red-haired said to Natsu, after she glanced at Meredy.

Natsu turned to the woman who shared the same hair color as him. Meredy nodded with a smile.

"Really? That's great! So what will you do to help Lucy?" he asked excited.

Meredy wanted to explain the spell she found in that book to Natsu, but she was interrupted by another voice.

"You only could help her to die." a female said. The voice was coming from the direction they were heading. All heads turned to the source. Natsu knew that voice but in this darkness he couldn't see anything.

"Show yourself!" Erza demanded in an angry voice. The female voice only cackled. Then her figure appeared in the light from the lacrima.

"Hello... and Good bye." she said. Then, faster as anyone could expect she attacked.

* * *

Besides the sound of water flowing and dripping it was silent. Gray, Juvia and Jellal didn't speak one word after the last turn. The silence was not that uncomfortable. Everyone of them were more of the silent type. But Gray was really bored, since the tunnel seemed to be endless and just offered the same unexciting gray. Maybe a conversation could distract him.

"What do you think this fallen dude want with the crystal?" the ice mage asked Jellal and started a conversation. Jellal hummed in thought.

"The star can open up portals, right? So maybe he wants to open up a portal to get back to the heavens realm." Jellal guessed. Tertius was a fallen angel, banished from the realm of the angels. So it could be the case that he wanted to return to his home. If he wants revenge or if he just wanted to return he couldn't say.

"Right, that could be. But what is if he uses it to call his comrades to destroy humanity together?" Gray wondered.

"Juvia doesn't think he has that many comrades back there. He was banished after all." the water mage threw into the discussion.

"Good argument. It's hard to say, because we didn't know enough about him." Jellal said. After that it was silent again. They all thought about different ways the enemy could use Azurra's star.

After a while Gray didn't come up with any more possibilities and was bored again. He watched Jellal's back as the Heavenly Body mage walked in front of him. Then he came up with another topic. He smirked.

"Jellal, when you passed Magnolia one day before the disbandment, did you met anyone?" the raven haired mage asked. From what his friend told him, a certain red haired female was still in Magnolia when Jellal and the rest of his guild passed through the city. There was a high chance he met her.

While Gray wasn't the type who meddles with other people's relationship or matchmaking at all, he wished for Erza and Jellal to be finally together and happy. He knew for sure those two had a attraction for each other, heck, he thought they even were in love. But due to Jellal's bad past he knew they couldn't be together right off the bat. But all this was now over one ... no, eight years ago (he often tended to forget they were stuck for seven years on Tenrou Jima). Jellal was now a free man. So why they didn't act upon their feelings, now that they all were traveling together?

Jellal stumbled a little bit and his ears were slightly turning red a the tips. Bullseye. Gray's smirk grew even wider.

"Ahhh y-yes. I met someone." Jellal reluctantly answered with a slight stutter at the beginning. He knew that Gray knew something. It wouldn't make sense for him to lie.

"Could this someone be Erza?" Gray asked while he stepped to Jellal's side and leaned towards him with a smug grin.

"Yes." the Heavenly Body mage shortly answered. He didn't like the direction this conversation was heading.

"So.. what did you two talk about?" Gray further interrogated. He knew that this was nothing of his concern, but he wanted to push these two just a little bit in the right direction. Also he was getting curious about the reasons which hold them apart.

"Nothing. Really. She seemed to be depressed. I just said something uplifting as I walked by. Nothing more." Jellal understated the encounter. He didn't mention how desperate he felt to help Erza. How his heart ached as he saw her so down sitting by the river. But he was never the type to openly express his feelings.

"Oh, that's great than..." Gray concluded. Then it was silent again. Jellal hoped the topic was dismissed. He nearly groaned as Gray spoke up again.

"So, what is the relationship between you two? I know the story of how you two met at the Tower of Heaven and all, and sometimes during the Grand Magic Games I could swear I saw the two of you together late nights."

Jellal could be a dork, and he could be shy about his feelings. But when Gray was prying into his feelings he got angry. The matter was confusing as it could get without anyone's meddling into it. Besides that, it was a sore topic for him. He loved Erza, but he was still a little bit disappointed by her leaving Lucy behind. He knew Gray didn't mean any harm, but even this knowledge couldn't bring his anger down. The ice mage was lucky enough that Jellal was still polite.

"This isn't any of your concern, by all means." he coldly said with a slight glare as warning. Gray reeled back and stepped a little bit away from the other male. He got the message. But he didn't want to leave it like that.

"Look man, I didn't want to pry into any business of you. I know that Erza has feelings for you, and I think you, too. I just wanted for the two of you to be happy. I thought now, that the two of you met again this could bring you together, but nothing happened. I know I'm not an expert in love, god forbid, and I know that you two didn't have the best history, but there is nothing in your way anymore. I just want to help you. I also will stop if you don't like my help." Gray explained.

Jellal thought about it. His anger vanished. He blushed again after hearing Gray talking about his and Erza's feelings, but he also got that Gray really just wanted to help him out. While he was still a little bit disappointed, this feeling was vanishing day by day. He loved her that much. So maybe after they defeated this crazy fallen angel he could confess and maybe they could finally be together.

"Sorry, I know you don't mean any harm. And if I finally decide to act upon this feelings, I ask you for help." Jellal said with a slight smile. Both were glad the conversation ended in a friendly manner.

Juvia beside them smiled. Gray had changed, and was way more open about feelings. Maybe he would finally accept her love for him fully. Then she wandered right off into LaLa-Land again.

An booming sound, like an explosion, from the distance ripped her out of it. Not ten seconds later the lacrima in Gray's hand shone red.

* * *

"Somehow I got the feeling that we are near the chamber." Caster said while breathing hard.

"Oh really?! I guess the third trap we encountered wasn't a hint enough." Laxus sarcastically spit out.

"Guys, stop it." Lucy spoke up.

The three of them were sitting on the ground, resting. After all, they just ran through a tunnel in which arrows flew around their heads.

"The Spirit king is way more sadistic than I thought." Caster grumbled annoyed. Before they entered the tunnel with the arrow trap, they were chased by alligators which magically appeared, and in another tunnel the ground was filled with runes who shot out fire if you stepped on them.

"I hope we are on the right track. If we don't find the fucking chamber I personally will kick the king's butt." Laxus growled.

"I guess we should rest for a bit. There could be more traps. It's best if we recover our stamina." Lucy suggested. Caster let himself fall on his back.

"Sounds good to me." he only said and he closed his eyes. Lucy took out her water bottle from her bag and drank from it. Laxus was eating a sandwich from the ones they brought with them.

For ten minutes it was quiet while everyone recovered from the murderous traps. Meanwhile Lucy studied the map.

"Something isn't right." she suddenly said after she rethought all the tunnels they passed until now. Laxus turned to her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"On the map there should be two other tunnels bedside the one in which we are right now. But when we were in the room where the tunnels split, there were only one other." she said, not taking her eyes from the map. Laxus eyebrows raised.

"Show me the map." he said. Lucy gave him the piece of paper. Laxus followed the drawing of the tunnels with his fingers and tried to remember which one they already took. After a minute his finger left the paper.

"You're right. There were only two tunnels in which we could go." he concluded irritated. Was the map wrong?

"So? Either we're wrong and we have to go all the way back or the map is wrong and we're royally fucked." Caster concluded, as he sat up. Lucy stood up and walked a little circle while she searched for a solution.

"If the map is false this whole progress we made is useless. Heck, we could even get lost and stuck in here forever." Laxus rubbed the back of his head frustrated.

"I thought you have enhanced senses. You could lead us out of here." Caster reminded him while remaining calm.

"Did you took one sniff in here? The whole tunnels are stinking of wastewater and crap I don't even want to know. It's covering everything in here, our own smells and even any source of fresh air." Laxus growled, more angry about the fact that his senses didn't work down here, than at Caster.

"Well, the tunnels we walked until now were on the map. Right now we still could go back. And now we even know the traps." Caster suggested. Laxus thought about it, then he turned to Lucy. She was still walking her circles deep in thought.

"Blondie? What do you say?" the Lightning Dragon Slayer asked his fellow blonde. It was entirely her decision, because it was her mission. He would follow her regardless of if they continue or not. Lucy stopped her walking but didn't look at him.

"I wonder if the other teams run into the same problem... " she thought out loud, but then she let her voice die down. On the spot were she was standing her ankles suddenly get very cold. To test it she stepped one step back. It was warmer by her feet. Why would there be a sudden change in temperature if no wind circulated in the tunnels? So were did the cold air come from? This only meant...

Suddenly Lucy got her knees and were holding her hands to the ground. She was moving her hands along the ground following it on her knees. Laxus and Caster shared a glance before the blonde man spoke up.

"Blondie, what are you doing?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. She was now crawling on the floor. Laxus appreciated the view but was still curious about what exactly she was doing.

"There is a breeze of cold air." she only said as explanation. But Caster and Laxus got. A breeze meant there must be an opening somewhere. But in their view was no door or opening it could possibly come from.

"Do you think it's an secret door or something like that?" Laxus asked her.

"Probably." she confirmed. After another ten meters she crawled on all fours, she stopped.

"Here the cold breeze stops." She stood up and investigated the wall. Leaning with her hands against it, she put her ear to it. She choose to ignore the wet feeling on her ear. She couldn't hear anything through it, so she knocked with her fist mildly against it. This she repeated on different spots.

"And? Is there a hidden door?" Caster asked as the blonde female leaned back.

"I hear no sounds, but the echo of my knocks sounded more hollow in this area." she pointed at the area.

"So behind this part of the wall is either a tunnel or a room." Laxus concluded. Lucy nodded.

"Step back." the lightning mage instructed. Lucy and Caster followed and took a couple of step back. Laxus held his fist up and charged it with his magic. The lightning was crackling around his hand. Then he punched the wall. With a loud boom the bricks gave in and a huge dust cloud builded between them.

Once the dust settled again, the whole in the wall showed another room.

"So there is a secret room. What a cliché." Caster said sarcastically. The three stepped into the room. But it was just that. A room. It got no doors or passaged to other tunnels.

"Great. It's a fucking empty room." Laxus groaned out. Back to square one, he thought.

"Somehow, I get a bad feeling about..." Caster was interrupted as the ground suddenly began to shake and grumble. Then one side fell down, so that the ground suddenly was lopsided and builded a slide.

"Shit!" Laxus cursed. The momentum of the ground falling was to fast for them to hold their balance. The three began to slide down. The side of the ground which fell, suddenly connected to what seemed a very long slide down into a dark tunnel.

Caster tried to hold himself on the ground, but the stone was too slippery. Laxus meanwhile grabbed Lucy, and pulled her on his chest, while he was sliding on his back. Lucy held onto him, while she tried not to loose their lacrima.

While Laxus was preparing for any possibility in which the slide could end, Lucy noticed that the lacrima in her hand changed colors.

A second later the slide suddenly ended, and they fell into a dark abyss.

Laxus thanked Mavis that the fall was not too deep. With a groan, he crashed onto his back, still protecting Lucy on his chest. Caster beside him cursed in an unknown language. Slowly, they stood up and looked around.

"Where the heck are we?" Caster asked irritated, while he was stretching his back. A satisfying crack sounded and he stood straight again. Lucy was secretly checking Laxus for any injuries. He took the fall for them two. The least she could do was making sure he was fine. Relief was clashing on her wall, as she saw nothing besides minor scratches.

Then she remembered the lacrima.

"Hey, when we were sliding down, the lacrima turned red. Erza and her team ran into trouble." she announced. Laxus sighed again. Not in anger about them, but in anger about the situation.

"That's bad. We can't help them. We're stuck here, because I don't think we can climb up that slide." he grumbled. Typical, that something happens at the worst time.

"I guess we just have to walk down this tunnel, and see were it leads." Lucy brought up as she pointed down the tunnel they faced. Caster and Laxus grunted in agreement. Not that there was another way.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Please leave a review or hit the follow/favorite button!**

 **kurahieirtr JIO : Glad I could make you laugh!:) Even I was jealous of Obabasama while writing it:D I don't want to give anything away but the matter with Lucy's soul will be addressed soon;)**

 **amberlincoln : (Sorry for misspelling your name, fan fiction would always change it) I don't plan on using the whole dragon mate thing, because there are so many stories with it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy stories with mates, but in my opinion it wouldn't work with my story. So Sorry if you was looking forward to that. But there will be enough romance to compensate it;)**

 **dogsrcool5:** **Wish granted:)**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	20. Chapter 19

**Welcome back!**

 **I wanted to post this chapter way sooner, but life is a bitch and between moving to another city and watching newborn puppies I had barely time to sit down and focus on the story. Only yesterday and today I took time for myself and sat down to write.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

"We gotta hurry!" Gray shouted as they ran down the tunnel which was the one Erza and her team took.

"I'm using magic to get there faster! I'll send a light from her lacrima when I found them!" Jellal said rushed before he glowed golden and dashed forward like a meteor. Juvia and Gray continued to run normally.

Gray was worried. Erza and Natsu were very confident in their abilities. They must have been gotten in a really big mess to call for help. They have to hurry.

"Juvia hopes Erza, Natsu and Meredy are ok..." Juvia said more to herself, but Gray caught the very worried tone in her voice. He didn't like the whole situation at all.

* * *

The three of them were walking silently for a long time now. Lucy was behind Caster, while Laxus walked next to her. The blonde female was watching the demon. She didn't know that much of him, only that he turned sides, was befriended with Nocturna and that he had taught Nyx her Demon Slaying magic. She didn't trust him yet, she only accepted him for now. Maybe she could find out more about him. Then she wouldn't have to be on guard the whole time.

"Staring at people is rude, you know?" Caster suddenly interrupted her thoughts. He wasn't even looking at her. She thought she was subtle, but apparently he also must have quite good senses. Instead of admitting that she stared, she changed the topic.

"What kind of magic do you use? Or are you using curses?" she asked him. The Tartaros demons all used curses and the demon she fought didn't cast their magics with spells. They also could have been using curses. Not like she left them much time to use them on her.

"Magic, like all the others of my class. Curses are way to restricted to use." he said nonchalant. Laxus eyed him a little bit surprised. He didn't expected for the demon to talk that easily.

"I'm using a sort of shadow magic, but it is more tied with dark and the night, than normal one. It's very hard to explain. Because we were born with it. It's like trying to explain how do you know to breath. It is more of an instinct to us." he explained to her. Lucy got what he told.

"Sorry if it's too personal, but what did you after the war? I guess you couldn't go back to the demon realm." Lucy continued.

"Are we playing twenty question now?" Caster asked sarcastically, while slightly smirking. Laxus growled. But before Lucy could answer, he continued speaking.

"Just kidding. I lived here in this realm. Always traveling, exploring or just killing time. You humans are quite entertaining to watch." he said. Lucy couldn't imagine what it was like to live over hundred years.

"How old are you exactly?" she asked him. Since he could change his appearance, there was no way telling his real age.

"I'm 679 years old." he said like it was nothing special. Apparently for demons it wasn't. Laxus was shocked for a moment. This was a really fucking long time to live.

"And how long is the lifespan of demons?" Lucy was now interested in getting more information.

"Depends on the class and type. The lower classes about 100-200 years and with each higher grade they can get older. The highest one, one class higher than me can get fucking thousand years old. The oldest of my class was 850 when he died. But apart of that there are three demons who are immortal. They are like the founder of my old realm. They're called the three commandments of the Dark. But no one saw them over the last two thousand years. They became more of a legend." Caster told them. Now that he mentioned it, Lucy never thought about how the whole demon realm worked. Was there a leader, a hierarchy? But they had more important matters right now.

"What was Nyx like?" she asked then. Caster's smirk vanished. Apparently a sore topic. He kept silent for a while, and she thought he was never going to answer, but then he did.

"She was the kindest, fairest person I've ever met. I was not really friendly to her at the beginning, but she just accepted me for what I am. She treated me like I was important to her. I often complained about how she wouldn't defend herself against those people who harassed her, but she defended them, said it wasn't normal for human to fear the unknown.

Maybe if I didn't shouted at her, staying with her, I could have helped her to stay on the right way. But my damn pride got a hold of me. I regret what I did and what I said everyday." he said in a low voice. He held his head low, staring at the ground, his eyes unfocused, like he was reliving that specific moment.

"Everyone of us has done something we regret. No one can do everything right. All living beings with feelings make mistakes." Laxus began, while he was looking at the demon. Caster lifted his eyes to meet the ones of the Dragon Slayer. Laxus could see the regret and sadness in them.

"Don't get hung up over it. What really matters is what you do now. Try to make the right choices now." the blonde male said with sympathy. He could understand Caster on many levels. Because he did great mistakes on his own. And mopping about them, stuck in regret, doesn't help anyone. Lucy felt warmth push against her wall, as she was watching and listening to him.

"Wow, I didn't believe something like that would come from you." Caster said, as he smirked again. Laxus was about to growl, but then he saw that that smirk wasn't really honest. Somehow he had the feeling that Caster and himself weren't that different after all. Both of them not the ones to talk about feelings and all that mushy stuff willingly.

The demon punched him slightly in the shoulder, and Laxus understood that gesture. It was his way of thanking him. He just rolled his eyes but he didn't mean it.

There was a long comfortable silence after that. They walked for another twenty minutes. Then the tunnel ended with a wooden door.

"I guess this is it then, right?" Caster said. Lucy examined the door.

"I can't feel any magic of it, so it should be free of traps." she said after she put her hand on it.

"Step behind me." Laxus said and stepped to the door. With one swift kick, the blonde man opened the door. Another room appeared. This one was much larger than the first one, where they entered. The buildings of the wall was the same and it was only lit with blue lacrima crystals, which gave the room and eery, unsettling feeling. In the middle of the room was a podium with a stone table.

Slowly the three stepped toward the table, but Laxus already saw it.

"The Star isn't here." he said surprised.

"You're kidding, right?" Caster asked him unbelieving. Laxus turned to the demon with a annoyed scowl.

"Look for yourself, dumbass. There is no fucking crystal!" he said to Caster. Lucy was meanwhile thinking. Why wasn't the crystal there? Was it in another room? Did someone got here before them? Or is it just another trap? She mused about all possibilities while the Dragon Slayer and the demon were bickering.

Lucy was about to step onto the podium, when a fourth voice stopped her.

"Finally you're here. I'd almost believe you would never find it." a male voice said. The shock was crashing nearly violently against her wall. Laxus got ice cold shivers running down his back and Caster was so tense he would snap at any moment. The blonde woman looked up, and there on the podium, only two meters away, was standing their enemy. Tertius.

Lucy immediately jumped back as well as Laxus and Caster. Laxus and Lucy know of what the fallen angel was capable of, and what great threat he is. Caster didn't know Tertius, but he know how powerful angels were. He fought them a long time ago.

The banished angel looked very calm. He also chuckled as the three jumped back. Lucy just watched him, unsure of what to do. Should she attack him? She was no match for him, but then would he attack them? Did he already got the crystal? But if that's the case, why was he still here?

"I can almost see the smoke, your brain is producing, girly." Tetris joked with an arrogant smirk on his lips while he was stepping in front of the table. Laxus was about to growl, but gulped it down. It wouldn't be wise to provoke him.

"You see, like you, I found this chamber to be empty. But be assured the Star is here." he hold up his index, like he was teaching a class.

"But the problem is, I can't get it. Therefore I need your help." The smirk on his lips turned diabolic.

"Forget it! We would never help you! You will destroy the humankind! Also you're using Nyx as slave!" Caster shouted angrily. Laxus was surprised by this outbreak. He never could imagine the cool and controlled demon to loose it like that. Tertius turned to Caster, examined him, then laughed.

"I see, not only do you little humans dare to meddle with angels magic, but you joining forces with demons. You're more disgusting than I thought." he sneered. Caster growled.

"Well, this conversation is boring. Nyx, could you please bring our new little friend?" he suddenly asked, and with a _puff_ the Night Demon Slayer appeared. But she wasn't alone. She was holding onto the collar of a constrained an unconscious Erza. They all gasped. Laxus started to growl, enraged by the thought that Nyx hurled one of his nakama. Caster was baffled. The last time he saw Nyx was as they parted ways. Not only changed her appearance because of her aging, but her aura and gaze was completely different. There was pure hatred in her eyes while her aura was emitting ways of sinister darkness. Lucy was again thinking how to maneuver them out of this situation.

Nyx then shifted her gaze to Caster. The demon saw the widening of her eyes as she recognized who he was. Quickly she regained her composure. While she still was very sore about the last conversation the two had, she didn't want Tertius to know about the connection they had.

"Oh! How hilarious! You should see your faces!" the mad man cackled, while wiping his eyes. After he calmed down he clapped his hands.

"What did you do to our friends?!" Laxus nearly growled. If they got Erza, they ad encountered Natsu, Meredy and Happy as well. Tertius looked at him, then turned to Lucy. He completely ignored the blonde man.

"So missy, what do you want to do? Help me voluntary, or do I have to hurt your little friend?"

* * *

"Oh my god, Meredy! Natsu!" Juvia shouted. Her, Gray finally found them. They had a hard time by finding the tunnel in which the other group had troubles. Jellal was already kneeling besides Meredy. The pink haired woman had a nasty gash on her forehead. Natsu beside her was in no better condition. He had scratches all over him, while he had bleeding cut on his arm. Happy was laying on the ground exhausted.

"What the heck happened?!" Gray asked them frantically. For a moment he gazed at Jellal who looked ready to murder someone.

"This chick attacked us. You know, the other Demon Slayer who Lucy fought against. She suddenly appeared and took us down." Natsu grimly said, while he clenched his teeth. He was pretty angry about this.

"Where's Erza?" Juvia asked, when she found the redhead to be missing. Jellal still looked to the ground, while clenching his fists even more.

"She knocked her out, and then took her." Meredy said frustrated, that she couldn't protect her newly gained sister.

"Did get anyone a sign from Lucy and her group?" Jellal asked. He was still very angry, but he tried to calm himself down and think of an solution.

"No." They all shook their heads.

"Somehow, I get a very bad feeling about this." Gray said while glaring at the ground.

"I agree. We should head towards their route. I think that Nyx is trying to use Erza against Lucy." Jellal said. With that they all stood up and headed back to the beginning.

* * *

Five minutes passed, since Tertius asked for her decision. Lucy and him was staring at each, calculating each other. Lucy's mind was running wild in order to find the best way, to get out of this. She couldn't obviously fight him. She would loose in mere minutes. Also this would probably lead to Tertius harming Erza and the others of her friends. For now she had no other choice, but to agree.

"What are you wanting from me exactly?" Lucy said with a steely voice.

"Lucy! Don't!" Laxus said, and Caster cursed beside him. Tertius started to cackle.

"Easy, girly. All I want from you is to spill some of your blood down on this podium." he said, while pointing to the podium behind him.

"You see, the Spirit King was quite thoughtful when he hid Azurra's star. He cast a spell on this podium, which requires a key to open it." Tertius further explained.

"What kind of key?!" Caster sneered. But the fallen angel never looked at him and ignored the demon while he hold his gaze on Lucy.

"You know it quite fascinates me, that the Spirit King would hold such an high opinion on a human. Not the best decision in my opinion, but it makes it easier for me. Well, your mother and grandmother were Celestial mages too, right?" Tertius said to Lucy. The blonde was confused by that. Why would a fallen mention the magic of her family? But before she could ask, the fallen continued to talk.

"The Heartfillia lineage is the key." And now the whole group was confused.

"What?" Laxus asked no one in particular. He didn't like where this was heading.

"Or rather, the blood." Tertius said. Laxus started to growl, and Caster took a fighting pose. They would never stand aside, while the maniac fallen was spilling Lucy's blood.

"Now, after all this boring talking, could you come here girly?" The angel yawned dramatically. "You wouldn't want your friend to get hurt, right?" he asked smirking, and Nyx gripped Erza tighter to further prove their intentions.

Lucy stared at him again, then she nodded.

"Lucy, no!" Laxus gripped her arm, hindering her from stepping forward. He searched her gaze. She looked up to him, and their locked their gazes. She saw the panic and anger as well as the concern in those green orbs. She pushed all of the emotions that welled up in her down and put a hand over his.

"Trust me." was the only thing she said, before she gripped his hand and pushed it from her arm. Laxus gritted his teeth, but did nothing to stop her. While Lucy walked toward the fallen, Laxus was trying not to rush towards her. Because he did trust her. He didn't like it one bit, but if she's got a plan, he would stay still. Caster next to them, clenched his teeth. He heard their words, and while the time they know each other was short, he trust the blonde woman.

"Good girly." Tertius said smiling diabolically as Lucy stepped in front of the podium. "Now, hold your arm up." he instructed. Lucy held his gaze, but shook her head.

"First, you let my friend go." she countered. Tertius lost a bit of his smile, but shrugged. He flipped his finger, and on command Nyx lowered Erza, before she threw the unconscious body towards Caster and Laxus. Startled, Laxus barely caught her. He grunted on the impact, but he did caught her. The blonde Slayer laid her body down carefully, but never took his gaze from Lucy.

Lucy, seeing her friend was safe, hold her hand up. Tertius hold his up, too, and produced with his magic a dagger. Lucy was preparing herself for the pain a cut on her hand would produce.

But the fallen surprised her. In one swift moment he stabbed Lucy in her abdomen.

"LUCY!"

* * *

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger! Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! I will try to hurry and bring the next chapter soon, so you don't have to wait too long!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	21. Chapter 20

**Welcome back!**

 **Ok, I know I took my time to post the next chapter, but my family had sort of a crisis, and I wasn't really able to sit down long enough to write it. I hope you aren't too angry with me and continue to read the story!**

 **I'm especially sorry for leaving with a cliffhanger and I swear it wasn't my intention to leave you hanging. I hate it myself if I had to wait too long after a cliffhanger. (I'm a very impatient person:D) To make it up to you, I wrote a longer chapter.**

 **Anyway I hope you still with me on the journey and I hope you like it so far:)**

 **Music inspiration for mostly the first half of the chapter: Fairy Tail Official Soundtrack: Ankoku no Madoushi (Dark Mage)**

 **And for those of you who didn't know: The songs I put here as Music Inspiration are the ones I recommend you to listen while reading the chapter. (Your choice)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the song.**

* * *

Laxus had only few things that were important to him. His grandfather, the Rajinshu and the guild.

But when he saw Lucy falling on her knees and her hand clutched over the bleeding wound, he noticed that something had been added to that list.

"LUCY!" he shouted. A wave of anguish and fear washed over him and rooted his feet to the ground. He couldn't move a muscle. But then anger took over him and Laxus only saw red. He clenched his fist so hard, that his nails were breaking his skin. That fallen bastard would pay for hurting Lucy.

He readied his magic and was about to attack, when Lucy held up her hand that wasn't clutching the wound.

"No! Stay there! It's fine, I got my healing, remember?" she said strained. Yes, the stab wound would heal fully in a minute, but she still felt the pain. Laxus took a deep breath, and tried not to act on his intent to murder that bastard. But he still was ready to act on any second.

Tertius meanwhile watched the knife with the blood on it with a sick smile. Then he held it above the podium. Slowly, the red liquid of life dropped down onto the cold gray stone. For five seconds nothing happened while everyone was holding their breaths.

Then light began to shine, and it magically formed a rune with blue light on the stone. The ground began to shake and here and there were bits and crumbs falling from the ceiling. Dust was clouding some parts of the room.

Tertius began to laugh maniacally, and shouted.

"Haha! Finally! Finally it's mine!"

When the rune was completed, the shaking got worse, as a part of the podium was lifted up. Like a little pillar, the stone rose and nearly shined blindingly. Everyone was in awe, while Lucy checked her wound. It was fully healed. Her senses tickled and she noticed something. She looked at Tertius, who was still fascinated by the relict, which appeared in a hole in the pillar.

It was a star shaped blue crystal, which got an mystical light flickering inside of it. The man carefully grabbed it, and held it up to examine it more closely. Lucy's gaze shifted over her shoulder to Caster. He felt it, and they eyes met. With a nod he indicated, that he got what she meant. They both took a deep breath, then they started to move.

Caster sprinted towards Nyx, tackling the surprised woman to the ground. At the same time, Lucy throw herself at the fallen, who was still distracted with the relict. Nyx gasped loudly, then groaned as her back hit the floor hard, and the sudden weight on her. Lucy managed to bring the fallen to stumble backwards. She rolled to the side, and saw, that the relict had been flying out of Tertius's hands. With a 'clack' it hit the ground, still intact and shining. Laxus was watching this whole thing with wide eyes.

"You little bitch!" the fallen shouted enraged, while he stood up. He was about to kick Lucy who was trying to stand up at the moment, but just after he lifted his foot a yellow beam of light tackled him again. Tertius went flying a few meters this time, while the light stopped, loosing it's shine to reveal Jellal.

"You came just in time." Lucy said to the blue haired man. She knew he was coming, she could sense him a mile away. The sound of many feet hitting the ground at the entrance of the room indicated, that the rest of their group arrived.

"What's going on?!" Natsu asked while tensing up as he saw the chaos in the room. Lucy knew they hadn't any time to explain which was only confirmed as she sensed Tertius moving again. She looked around thinking of something. The crystal laid only few feet away from her. Caster still had Nyx in his grip, as he lay over her while she was struggling. Tertius was slowly standing up and at the sight of his face Lucy tensed up. He was more than angry. She turned back to her group. Quickly she took the crystal and threw it to Jellal, who caught it by reflex.

"Jellal, take this and Erza. Everyone, get as fast as possible out of here! Evacuate the city! Caster and I will stop them." she instructed them, as she fully stood on her feet again.

"No way we're leaving you here!" Laxus argued back, while Gray and Natsu grunted in agreement. Jellal and the rest looked distressed. Lucy knew this would happen. Emotions were crashing on her wall like never before. She recognized fear. Fear of letting her friends get hurt.

"We are the only ones capable of holding them off! We have no time to argue! GO!" she shouted, and for the first time since they met again Lucy showed a little hint of emotions. They all were shocked. Laxus eyes widen at the display.

"Lucy.." he whispered. The blonde heard, but they had no time to discuss this any further.

"NOW!" Lucy hold up her hand in a dismissing gesture, while she turned to the fallen angel who was now standing and glaring at her. Jellal was definitely not happy with this, but he couldn't argue against her. Besides that he was really startled by her display of emotions. Sighing he activated his meteor magic and took the still unconscious Erza into his arms. The others started to move. Only Laxus was still not going. He watched the blonde take a battle stance.

He never felt the need to protect something or someone so badly as in this moment. Even not when Tempesta threatened the Rajinshu. It came close, but still nothing like this, because this time he couldn't fight. For a second he was shocked and asked himself why he felt so, but he quickly recognized that this was wether the right place nor right time to think about it. He pushed his emotions down and started to move.

"You better make it out alive, Lucy." he mumbled before he rushed out of the room with his lightning magic.

Lucy heard it. Those words builded a huge wave of determation inside of her which clashed hard on her inner wall. She watched as Tertius was getting into a battle stance.

Last time they thought he easily overpowered her. She knew he was stronger than her, but Power alone didn't win battles. This time her chances were higher because she knew what he was capable of. She wasn't going in blind. But still she had to even out their differences in strength.

Concentrating on herself she called her dark blood. It was risky, but she had no other way to call on so much power fast enough. Lucy could feel the black marks as their carved their way up her back in a artistic pattern. Once it reached her shoulders it began to crawl down her arms. Then she stopped. This was the limit. If she would draw more magic from the black blood she would loose her control over her demon. She already could hear it slightly cackling in a corner of her mind.

The blonde chose to ignore it, and she threw her body forward.

"Star Angel's Star Force!" she chanted as her fist began to glow golden. Tertius was surprised by her speed and was unprepared for the punch he received. She hit him right into his stomach. He was pushed back a few meters by the force. Lucy used the time to change her bracelet into a katana.

The fallen growled before he summoned his magic.

"Mass Control: Tsunami" he shouted. A purple mass was building up behind him, which was behaving like real water. It grew wider and higher, before swapping over him and rushing right towards the blonde.

* * *

The other part of the group meanwhile reached the exit of the canals. Stepping into the daylight they immediately began to move.

"Natsu send the signal!" Laxus instructed and the fire mage nodded. He lifted his arm over his head and sent a huge beam of flames into the sky. On the other side of the town the the mages of Lamia Scale saw the the flames.

"That's the signal! Start to evacuate the townspeople! Hurry!" Sherry shouted at her guild mates from her position on the first floor. The mages didn't waste time and ran out of the building.

"I hope that the Fairies are ok..." Yuka mumbled as he ran besides Lyon.

"They're alright. These monsters are hard to kill off." Lyon chuckled but he couldn't help but to worry a little about his 'brother'.

Wendy was running out of the guild, too.

"Wendy, wait!" Chelia shouted after the blue haired girl.

"Sorry, but I have to make sure my nakama are ok!" she answered over her shoulder, not slowing down.

Back at the entrance of the canals Jellal was gently laying down Erza. Juvia and Meredy were beside him with an worried expression on their faces.

"Is Erza ok?" the water mage asked.

"She is still breathing, and I can't see any heavy wounds." Jellal told them after he examined his childhood friend.

"So what are we doing now?" Gray asked irritated. He didn't like to sit around and just wait.

"Lucy gave me the crystal. The smartest choice would be to run and hide." the ex-council member said, while his eyes were closed. He was rubbing the back of his head.

"No way! We're not running away, and leave Lucy here!" Natsu argued angrily.

"I never said that we're going to do it. I just stated facts. If Lucy can't beat Tertius I highly doubt that anyone of us could defeat him." Jellal looked up at Natsu.

"It doesn't matter if we face him here or anywhere else. Because I think he will find us regardless of how good we hide. Besides there's no way we're leaving Lucy here." Laxus explained.

"That's insane. Just like the Fairy Tail mages like it." Jellal smirked at Laxus. The blonde man smirked back.

"Alright!" Natsu shouted excited. He was about to ran back into the canals, but Laxus was quickly enough to grab him by his scarf.

"Stop Natsu. We're not going back. We will help evacuate the town, while she and the demon will hold off that bastard. We have to make sure, no innocent people will get hurt." The older slayer said to him. Natsu pouted, but didn't argue back. He understood that saving the citizens was more important right now.

"Guys!" a female voice shouted in the distance. They all turned to the source and saw the tiny blue haired Slayer heading towards them.

"Wendy!" Gray said as he recognized her. Wendy reached them and stopped. She was bending over with her hands on her knees and tried to get air back into her lungs. Once she thought she calmed down enough to speak, she stood straight again.

"Are you all alright? I saw the signal, what- "she stopped talking once she saw Erza laying unconscious on the floor.

"Erza-san!" she exclaimed worried. No second later she was kneeling beside the red haired woman and held her glowing hands above her body.

"What happened?" she asked not looking up.

"She was knocked out. We got attacked by another Himmelsjäger." Natsu angrily explained. He was still sour about how easily they were defeated.

"And where's Lucy-san?" she asked.

"Still down there. She's fighting the fallen angel." Gray said clenching his teeth.

"What?!"

* * *

Caster was dodging another attack of Nyx's shadow daggers.

"You know I taught you this magic? It's way too easy for me to fight you." he smirked while merely leaning to the side. Nyx clenched her teeth.

"I was naive back than. I got a lot stronger since then!" she shouted back at her old teacher and friend. She rushed towards him trying to hit him with her 'Night Angel's Night Force'. But still, Caster could evade her attacks easily.

"You mean, when you decided to give your demon blood the control?" Caster sneered. He lost his jokingly tone.

"What do you know? You ARE a demon! Don't lecture me!" she screamed. She was loosing her cool and she got frustrated that she couldn't land one hit on him. She stopped and breathed in. Letting the air escape her lungs, along with her 'Demon Rage'. Her opponent casted a wall of shadows who stopped the beam with an loud clashing sound. Once the magic subsided, Caster called upon his own shadows which builded arms, which were heading to her.

"You're right, I am a demon. But I have emotions and a soul, too. I chose to abandon the way of the demons, to walk the right path!" he exclaimed seriously. His shadow hands reached her, and while she could evade many, a few could grab a hold of her legs. The hands lifted her up in the air and she was hanging upside down.

"You feel emotions?! Well, then you must understand the anger and pain those humans caused me!" Nyx let and shadow dagger appear in her hand and cut herself free. Falling she did a flip to land on her knees.

"They took everything from me!" she stood up, and summoned more daggers, who cut the leftover shadow hands.

"But that were only a few people, not the whole human race! Remember what you said back then? 'They just acting that way because they're afraid'!" Caster almost sound pleadingly. Nyx never heard him speaking like that to her. She was so stunned, that she didn't saw the magic beam which was heading towards her. It hit her and she flew back.

"Please Nyx, I know this isn't you who is acting that way! Don't let yourself be controlled by that dark blood!" the demon said, while he walked to her. For a moment his gaze shifted to Lucy, to see how she was fairing. He needed her magic to get Nyx on the right track again, if she don't change her mind.

The blonde noticed his gaze and understood, but she shook her head.

* * *

After Lucy avoided the tsunami by lifting herself up with Virgo's earth magic, she went into the offensive.

Lucy was using her speed to handle the fallen. She ran towards him, slashed at him with her sword, then moved away quickly and charged again from a different angle. This procedure she repeated over and over again, but Tertius could block every attack with his purple mass.

As she fell back a few meters, she changed her plans.

"Star Angel's Meteor Shower!" she casted her magic, and not a second later hundreds of golden meteors were falling upon Tertius. Lucy used it as cover to get close to Tertius, who let his purple mass build up a wall to protect him. She rounded the magical wall, and brought her arm up to strike. But the fallen noticed her and he grabbed her golden katana midair. She couldn't even react before he kicked her in her stomach hard. She flew backwards, and hit the wall. Hard.

Coughing blood at the impact, she knew this was bad. She fell down to the ground. Tertius was insanely strong even without his magic. She had to change her tactic again. Feeling a gaze on her she turned her head to Caster who was walking towards a beat up Nyx. He looked at her asking. She understood that he asked her for help with Nyx. But with Tertius still here, there was no chance, that she just could stop fighting him, and help Caster.

"What are you thinking about, wench? Did no one told you it is rude to ignore his opponent?" The fallen ripped her out of her thoughts. He suddenly appeared right in front of her and grabbed her by her throat.

This was is. He just had to squeeze a little harder and she would be a goner. But while she was still emotionless, she wasn't willing to just gave up. She gathered magic in her lungs and released it right into his face in form of her 'Star Angel's Demons Rage'.

Tertius let her fall to the ground and stumbled back. The fallen couldn't believe this mere human could actually land a hit, and even worse hurt him that much.

Lucy was not waiting for her enemy to recover. Releasing another Demons Rage, but this time with much more power, she immediately started to attack again. Tertius was barley able to avoid the beam. He looked at the blonde woman, and smiled upon her miss, but he didn't expect her to shout something to her ally.

Just then he noticed that the whole roof of the room was shaking and dust was falling upon him. Then more of the structure fell down, and the fallen knew that the whole canals were breaking down. He turned back to the blonde to see her helping the demon to lift up his slave. So this weak human didn't tried to hit him, but to destroy the canals? He had to admit she was not as dumb as he thought. This distraction caused him to miss the huge stone which was falling right down on him.

* * *

Opening her eyes slowly Erza came back to herslef.

"Erza-san!" Wendy said right next to her. Opening her eyes fully she looked around to see Wendy and Meredy standing at each side of her, looking at her with relief. Furthermore she noticed that they weren't in the canals anymore.

"What... happened?" she asked grunting as she felt pain in the back of her head. Then she remembered that the other Himmelsjäger attacked them, knocking her out before she even had the chance to fight.

"Where is Nyx?! I have to teach her some manners!" Erza angrily said, while standing up.

"Calm down, Erza. This isn't our biggest problem right now." Meredy said to her and Erza didn't like the worried expression the pinkette wore.

Just as she was about to asked what problems she meant, an explosion was heard and the ground shook. Looking up they saw a huge dust cloud reaching the sky some blocks away.

"That must be from the canals!" Meredy shouted.

"You mean Lucy?!" Wendy asked shocked.

"What?!" Erza asked confused.

"We have to check!" the pinkette said as she started to run towards the dust cloud. Wendy was helping up Erza, and the both followed.

* * *

"Are all citizen out of town?" Laxus asked the mage of Lamia Scale which was near to him. The blonde Slayer ran around town shouting at people to immediately leave the town, when he saw the other mage.

"Not yet. The west part is empty, but there are still people in the east." he answered stressed, before he remained to lead a group of families away.

That's when the explosion occurred. Laxus quickly faced it. His gut sank, and he felt a heavy chill going down his back. His worry and fear for Lucy gripped him hard.

"Fuck." he mumbled. Then he sprang into action and used his Lightning Teleport towards the dust cloud.

* * *

Coughing Lucy heaved herself up, out of the whole. Caster was beside her with the unconscious Nyx on his back. The dust was still clouding the air and made it hard to breath. She sat herself up and tried to regain her strength. Facing the whole, she saw the damage. Her attack caused the canal to gave in, and were once stood a block of houses, was now a huge whole which was filled with fallen apart buildings. She was lucky they were fast enough to get out of there. Scanning her surroundings she relaxed her tense body when she couldn't spot the fallen angel anywhere. It meant that he was still down there, buried.

"Lucy?" Caster besides her adressed her. She turned her head towards him. The demon was kneeling besides the still out of it Nyx, who was laying on her back where Caster laid her down.

"Are you ok?" he asked her. Lucy nodded.

"Some scratches, only minor wounds. What about you? And Nyx?" she stood and and got down on her knees at the other side of the black haired woman. Lucy examined her carefully. No heavy injuries, but a lot of dirt covered her body. Her black and purple hair was open and laid messily spread under her head. She had a peaceful expression on her face, and Lucy had to say, that it suited the beautiful face much better, than the always angry face.

"I'm fine. I knocked her out. It was the only option. She wouldn't listen to me... But like that, we can use your magic to break the black blood's claim over her." he said almost with sorrow in his voice. Lucy watched him, as he starred at the female with an loving but also sad gaze.

"Are you sure we should do this? I'll do it, but we do force it upon her. Even if we succeed, she might hate us, for not giving her the choice." Lucy warned him. It was no problem for her, since she could not feel regret, but she expected that it would hurt Caster if his former friend would reset him.

"It's ok if she hates me. All I want is for her to be happy again." he said determined. With only these two sentences Lucy know that Nyx meant everything to Caster. If he loved her or was in love didn't even matter. It only mattered that he would do anything for her.

"Ok. Let's do it." she said to him. Lucy leaned over Nyx and held her outstretched arms above her.

"You have to give me instructions." she reminded Caster. The demon nodded, and took a seep breath to calm himself down and to focus his nervous self.

The sudden crack of thunder startled them both. Turning to the source they saw Laxus forming from the light with a sort of panicked expression.

"Lucy! Are you ok?!" the lightning mage nearly shouted once, he spotted her. He almost ran towards her.

"Thanks for asking, I'm fine, too." Caster sarcastically said, with an annoyed frown. But the blonde man ignored him.

"We're fine. I destroyed the canal, in order to get us out of there, and trapping Tertius at the same time." Lucy told him, before he even could asked what happened. Laxus exhaled loudly, and the tension left his body.

"Damn Lucy, don't scare me like that." he grumbled sort of embarrassed that he showed his feeling this open. Then he spotted Nyx lying on the floor.

"What's with her?" he asked. He knew about Caster's plan to bring her back on the right track, but he was still cautious. If the plan didn't work she would still be the enemy. The Dragon Slayer didn't appreciate the fast that Lucy was so near to her.

"We were about to start the Cleaning Process, before you interrupted us." Caster said to him bluntly. Laxus was about to growl, but he decided against it, as he saw that the demon was tensed up. He understood him. If he was in Caster's position and it would be Lucy laying down there, he would be a fucking mess, too. So instead of snapping a mean comment back, he just sat down.

Lucy looked at Caster again, and he nodded.

"Ok, first concentrate on your magic. Feel the pure light of the stars, which flows within you." The white haired man said. Lucy closed her eyes and like Capricorn told her so long ago, she grasped her magic. Her body began to glow slightly golden, and the wind around her picked up. Laxus was awed by the way the light surrounded her and let her appear even more beautiful. Then he sensed the huge magic in her and he was shocked. It was such a heavy pressure that he believed not even Gildarts possessed. All this time she must have hidden it.

"Now widen you view and see Nyx's magic aura." was the next step, and Lucy shifted her inner eye towards the other Himmelsjäger. She saw the aura, which had the color of black which sometimes flowed over in purple. But in the middle of it, was a angry red spot. She saw how the red spot pulsated like a vein, and it gave off an evil vibe. Concentrating on her task again, she nodded to show Caster that she found it.

"Good. Now guide your magic towards hers and try to erase the dark blood's grip with your light." he said. This would be the hardest part of the procedure. Not only that Nyx's aura would fight against any invading magic, like any mage would instinctive do, but also the dark blood wouldn't let go of the power source voluntary. It would resist with all it got.

Lucy changed her magic flow and let it stream towards Nyx. The light traveled down her arm and began to engulf Nyx's aura. The blonde immediately felt the resistance. Using force she willed her magic to overpower the purple and black closed magic. Caster and Laxus saw the first sweat drop to appear on her forehead.

After a minute she succeeded, and her magic flowed into the aura of the Night Demon Slayer. Nya's body gained a soft golden shimmer, but not as bright as Lucy's. The blonde exhaled. Now to the hard part.

Her magic reached the outline of the red part, and as soon as it was touching it, the dark blood pulsated more strongly and fought against the strange magic. It began to stab at Lucy's magic, and while someone outside couldn't see it, it hurt the blonde woman. A mages aura was a part of their soul. When two aura's fought each others, it was not a physical pain, but a mentally. While Lucy's soul was not whole it remained thanks to the corobice mostly functional. The jabs the demon blood clashed onto her corobice and caused her the sensation of pain.

But Lucy was not willing to give up. She commanded her magic to fight back. Piece by piece her magic could erase the angry red color. Her complete forehead was now drenched in sweat, and Laxus and Caster were tensing up. Clenching her teeth, she used a great part of her magic and let it directly flow towards the last spot of the demon blood.

 _"Stars high above us,_

 _light, which erases the dark of the universe,_

 _lend me your purifying shine,_

 _light up the darkness of our hearts!"_

Lucy chanted, with her eyes still closed. Her body began to shine even brighter, to a point where it was almost blinding. The demon blood couldn't stand the light and the overpowering magic and it gave up it's claim in Nyx's aura. The light disappeared, and Luny nearly hunched over. She heavily breathed and tried to calm her racing heart down. Laxus and Caster were baffled by the light which was showcased. But the demon was the first to snap out of it.

"And?! Did it work?!" he desperately asked. Lucy straightened her back and opened her eyes.

"Yes. I could break the control of the dark blood." she answered. Laxus smiled. He was proud of Lucy, and happy for Caster. The demon himself hunched and lowered his head. After a second he lifted his head again. Laxus was surprised, and Lucy didn't say a word. Tears were streaming down on the demons face and he wore a smile.

"Thank you." he said in an grateful voice. Caster felt so relieved that his childhood friend could be herself again. No longer would anger and hatred taint her feelings. She could live a happy life again.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it!:)**

 **Alaina Kuski: Sorry I trolled you, but as you could read, she's fine:)**

 **kurahieiritr JIO: Good to be back again:) (Even after a pause again:/) Of course she wouldn't let him get away so easily;)**

 **dogsrcool5: Wish** **fulfilled :)**

 **DeathAssassinFaerie: Sorry for the long wait, i hope you could enjoy it!:)**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	22. Chapter 21

**Hallihallöchen:) (german phrase for greeting)**

 **I wasted no time, and can proudly present you the next chapter!**

 **Music Inspiration:**

 **Most of the chapter: Fairy Tail OST: Markarov vs Hades**

 **The last part: Fairy Tail OST: Sad Past (Kanashiki Kako)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the mentioned Songs.**

* * *

The dust clouds from the collapsed canals and buildings were still clouding the air. Some parts of it still collapsing with loud grumbling noises as the wood and stone broke apart under the weight. Fortunately, no people were in the houses as the whole explosion went down.

Somewhere between the pile of broken parts of the buildings was emerging a purple mass. The slimy material increased and with force the mass pushed the wood and stones away. With the magically mass was emerging a pissed looking man, who was covered in various bruises and dirt.

"That little bitch..." he grumbled with clenched teeth. Stepping completely out of the whole he created with magic, he observed his surroundings. He felt the magical aura of that wench,her demon and another mage along with that of his slave. He nearly didn't recognized it, because it changed. Must be the doing of Astrael's bitch. But what he also discovered was, that Azurra's star wasn't with them. Then he remembered, that the blonde gave it to one of her allies. It was the blue haired man, who tackled him, if he remembered correctly.

Tertius grinned nastily. _Perfect._

* * *

Wendy, Meredy and Erza were running down the street towards where the explosion occurred. On the way until now Meredy explained everything that happened to the red haired woman. She couldn't believe that they again let Lucy fight by herself. She understood it, but she felt like she was betraying and neglecting her. Again. She gritted her teeth. Some help they were for Lucy.

Her only hope that they could ever make it up to her was her plan of healing her soul with the spell she found. But that had to wait, until they brought everyone safely out of the town. For now, she prayed her blonde sister was alright.

Rounding the corner of the next building they all stopped as they saw Jellal, Natsu and Happy speaking with mages of Lamia Scale. No citizens were there, which meant that this part of the town was already evacuated.

"Jellal!" Meredy next to her shouted and she walked towards him. Wendy and Erza followed. The Heavenly Body mage turned by the sound of her voice.

"Meredy, and Erza? I see you're alright." he said as he saw his old childhood friend standing besides the pinkette. He had the slight trace of a smile on his lips and relief was written in his eyes.

"All thanks to Wendy." Erza said back while smiling.

"Great, Erza is back on her feet!" Natsu exclaimed happily, while Happy besides him gave his typical 'Aye!'.

Remembering while they were here, Erza lost her smile.

"Did you saw the explosion?!" she asked serious again. The males expression also turned into a worried one.

"Yes. But the town is still evacuating. Besides, we have to believe in Lucy." Jellal said, but everyone could see that it was hard for him. He was worried sick for the blonde. Over the long time they traveled together, the Celestial mage grew on him, and she was like a little sister to him. While he had faith in her, he couldn't push his worry down.

"Yeah... you're right." the red haired female agreed reluctantly. For a moment she felt jealousy rear his ugly head, but it lasted only for seconds. She knew that Jellal wasn't interested in Lucy in that way.

Suddenly Jellal felt an overwhelming magic pressure, that he was all to familiar with. A split second later a bright light shone from the direction the explosion occurred 15 minutes ago.

Everyone was baffled as they saw the light and the magic it contained.

"Is that Lucy?" Natsu asked awed. He never felt such power in the blonde, but the magic was definitely hers.

"Yes... but doesn't feel like it's meant to attack. It feels more... purifying." Meredy added with an admiring shine in her eyes.

"Then they must be healing Nyx. But does that mean she defeated Tertius?" Erza concluded.

"I don't know..." Jellal said, surprised by the whole thing.

Fully concentrated on the bright golden light, and trying to guess what happened, nobody on the group felt or saw the purple magic beam which was heading their way. But even if they felt it, it was so fast that nobody could do a thing.

For Erza it felt like the time flow slowed down. Her senses reacted to something incoming, and her eyes shifted to her right, where Jellal stood. A magic beam from behind them was heading towards him in high speed. By the time she reacted, it already tore through Jellal's side. Her vision went red like the blood which splattered to the ground.

"JELLAL!" she screamed in agony. The blue haired man had his eyes wide open, and his mouth was letting out a surprised gasped. Then he coughed up blood as he crumbled down. Not wasting a second she rushed to his side, tears already streaming down her face. Meredy and Happy were shocked to their bones, unmoving. Natsu balled his fist, and searched his surroundings for the attacker. Wendy after shaking herself out of the shock rushed to his free side and tried to heal the gaping hole at Jellal's side. The Heavenly Body mage himself barley remained conscious as he gritted his teeth in pain.

"Jellal, stay with me!" Erza pleaded, in a panicked state. She couldn't loose him. After everything they faced together, this couldn't be how it ended. They both lost so much already.

"Where are you?! Show yourself!" Natsu shouted, wildly glancing around him searching for the foe. The group of mages of Lamia Scale were silent and stood still because of the horror they saw.

A chuckle in front of them gained their attention. There standing was Tertius with an evil smile on his face.

"I'll take that back, thank you." he said as he held up his arm, which was covered in blood, but the more shocking fact was, that he was holding Azurra's star in his hand.

"What?... How?..." Erza said shocked. Slowly she gazed down at Jellal wound. Examine it, she recognized that part of his jacket was ripped and gone. With the specific aimed attack Tertius must have known that Jellal stored the crystal in the pocket of his jacket.

"I see you figured it out already. I must say, I could easily killed him, and take the crystal, but where is the fun in that? Now you can all watch him bleeding painfully to death. Also it's a little bit revenge for attacking me." he sneered and laughed arrogantly.

"You bastard!" Natsu screamed furiously.

"Now, now. I'm afraid I have no time for you. Now, that I finally obtained Azurra's star, you should be more concerned about your own life." Tertius talked to him like he was a little child.

"What do you mean?! And where's Lucy?! Happy shouted angrily, but also worried for his blonde friend.

"Tsk, like I'm talking to an animal." the fallen sounded disgusted. Multiple veins appeared on Natsu's forehead.

"How dare you!" he readied himself for fighting and lit his fist up.

"I'm annoyed with you insects. Let me show what the humankind really deserves and end your pathetic race once and for all." he nearly shouted. Then a pair of wings ripped out of his skin on his back. The feathered wings which once were white were now tinted black, indicating his status as a fallen angel.

The wings moved and with one powerful movement he took flight, only leaving a strong gust of wing behind.

* * *

"Are you ok?" Laxus asked Lucy beside him. She looked a little bit out of breath. No wonder after this display of magic.

"I'm fine." she answered before she stood up. She gazed down and Nyx and Caster. The demon was holding her hand, while he softly stroke over her forehead. A warm feeling was clashing against her inner wall. To press it down she concentrated on more important matters.

"We have to get to the others and..." she began to speak, but she was interrupted by the booming voice, which surrounded them.

" _Greetings human_." the voice chuckled. They looked around for the source, when Caster pointed up to the sky.

There floating over the city was Tertius flying in front of a large projection of him. It was so big, that you could clearly see him from all over the town.

"What?! I thought he was buried in the canal!" Caster exclaimed unbelieving. Lucy herself was surprised. How did he survived the collapsing? And why didn't she notice him coming out of the hole? But more important why did he projected himself for all of them to see?

" _My name is Tertius. An angel, which means you all should bow down to me._

 _Your weak little creatures, who sinned while we higher beings bled for you, you shall face the punishment today!"_ The mad fallen announced. He held up his arm.

"Is that...? Fuck." Laxus spitted out as he recognized the thing their enemy hold in his hand. Fear pushed against Lucy's inner wall like never before.

" _Beginning with this town I will unleash horror onto this world, which will eradicate your race._

 _Goodbye, humans."_ Tertius ended his speech. The crystal in his hand began to shine.

"This cannot be good. We have to get there, and stop him." Lucy said. She looked back at Caster.

"Bring her somewhere safe, then join us." She instructed the demon, who nodded. He lifted her up in his arms, and quickly moved away. Lucy looked towards Laxus, who nodded. They both jumped up onto the rooftop of the next house to them. Running and jumping along the roofs of the city they were nearing the position of the fallen.

Meanwhile Tertius began to chant something which indicated the crystal was activating, and the light from it increased the shine the longer the fallen chanted.

Then suddenly the crystal reached it's maximum of light, and a magical pressure burst from it like waves. The circle of pressure broke glass and thin wood on his destructive way through the city. Many people, citizens and mages alike, who didn't saw it coming were either swept away, or hit by the flying debris. The wave left many injured and even death humans behind.

"Watch out!" Laxus shouted before gripping Lucy's arm, and pulled her down with him. The wave reached them, and they both struggled to stay on the roof, without being blown away or being hit by the flying pieces of glass or wood.

As the pressure disappeared they looked up. And Laxus gasped. The crystal was floating in front of Tertius, still shining. Around it was a slowly spinning blue magic circle. The shape of the circle changed while the runes filled out the shape it was forming. Now, after finishing shifting, the color disappeared, and there in the sky was floating a gate which had the height of a thirty stories building. The gate sank towards the ground and crushed down everything in his way, before it landed with an clashing sound. Even from the position the two blondes were, they could feel the ground shaking from the impact.

"Is this the portal?" Laxus asked unbelieving. They were sitting up.

"It seems so..." Lucy lifted herself from her knees. They had to stop Tertius before the gate opens. She transformed her bracelet into a bow, and tapped into the magic of Sagittarius. The mark of the archer appeared on the back of her left hand. Preparing the arrow, she took aim.

Releasing the arrow, it shot through the air with a golden gleam, with the aim to hit the fallen. As it was two meters away from him, it suddenly bounced off, before it even could reach the body.

"What..?" Where the arrow stopped, Lucy could see a purple shimmering.

"That bastard put up a child around him!" Laxus growled, while balling his fist. It meant that no attack of the two would hit him. And to make the matter even worse, the crystal was in the barrier, so there was no chance to hit that, too. But Laxus was ripped out of his thinking, as the gate opened, with an deafening loud groan. The whole city shook again because of the force.

"Dammit!" the Lightning mage cursed. They we're too late.

* * *

"Jellal, stay with us!" Erza desperately tried to keep her childhood friend awake. She gently hold his cheek while the other hand squeezed his shoulder. Wendy besides her was frantically trying to heal his wound with her magic.

Natsu and Happy meanwhile watched the spectacle in the sky. That was when the pressure wave came.

"Shit!" Natsu gritted his teeth, as he saw the incoming danger. He looked back over his shoulder. They had no time to move the injured Jellal out of the way, and that would mean they would get blown away.

Preparing his magic, he did the only thing he came up with this quickly.

"Watch out!" he shouted before he took a deep breath and released his fiery roar against the wave, which was ripping apart everything in his wake. The fire and the pressure collided. Natsu's attack was just strong enough to keep the force at bay, but the wind blew harshly, regardless. Happy was holding onto Natsu's leg for his dear life, his little body unable to keep his feet onto the ground. Natsu himself covered his face with his arms, and focused on keeping his balance. Erza positioned herself in front of Jellal and Wendy, and protected them from the pieces which flew over them. Wendy continued to concentrate on her healing, trusting Erza's protection.

The wind stopped and Natsu slowly took his arms down. He exhaled.

"Damn, that was a close one." he said to himself, as he turned around.

"Everything alright?" He asked the girls. He saw that Erza gained some scratches on her back, but nothing too bad. He knew that the red haired mostly didn't feel anything of those minor wounds. She was tough as that.

"We're alright." Erza said, as she shifted to Jellal's side again. Natsu shifted his attention back to the fallen angel in the sky. Suddenly he saw a golden gleam, and as he focused on it, his saw, thanks to his sharp eyes, that it was an arrow. Particualry one of those he knew his blonde friend owned. Natsu felt relief, that Lucy was still attacking, which meant she somewhat fine.

Wendy stopped her treatment. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.

"He should bee out of the woods, but he lost a great amount of blood. He has to rest." she said to Erza, which already was watching her unpatienly to hear what the condition of him was. The red haired closed her eyes while exhaling the breath she held. Jellal would make it. Some tears of relief gathered in her eyes. She was even to happy to speak.

The Fire Dragon Slayer meanwhile saw that the arrow didn't reach Tertius.

"Bastard put a shield around him!" he exclaimed angrily. But his anger was quickly replaced as he realized what that meant. They could do nothing against the opening of the gate. They would be open for an attack, especially Jellal.

"Erza! Wendy! Take Jellal, and bring him to safety! The gate will open!" he instructed.

"But what about you?" Wendy asked worried.

"I will stay here, and fight whatever comes out of the damn portal!"

* * *

Gray saw the that fallen in the sky and inwardly cursed. Juvia and him were still leading a bunch of people out of the inner city parts. But it seems, that they were running out of time.

"Hurry! You have to get out of here!" he commanded harshly. Juvia besides him noticed that he wasn't angry at them, but he was desperate to get them to safety. After all, the ice mage was still not that good with showing his emotions.

Gray's senses tingled as if they were warning him. Turning around his eyes went wide. A wave of strong winds, almost like a living force was ripping apart the streets, and it was coming towards them.

"Juvia!" he shouted, to gain her attention. The waves was incoming fast, and they had no time to bring the citizens out of the harms way in time. He nodded towards the blue haired woman, who understood what she had to do.

The water mage summoned a larger wave out of her body.

"Now!" she gave the raven haired mage the signal that she was ready. Gray put his right fist onto his left palm.

"Ice Make: Geyser!" he chanted. Ice builded up in his hands, quickly shaping itself into the form of a water geyser. Juvia commanded her wave forward. The water and the ice mixed together and rushed towards the force wave, in an incredible fast speed. The magic clashed into the force, and in an loud explosion nullified themselves.

"We did it." Gray sighed in relief before he smirked.

"Great job, Gray-sama!" Juvia praised him while fawning over him with a smile.

"No, we both did a great job." he said to her with an proud look in his eyes. Juvia went red, before she had hearts in her eyes. She was off in La-La-Land.

* * *

Caster frowned as he saw that they couldn't prevent the portal from opening. He brought Nyx inside of an house with thick walls, which withheld the force wave. It was a simple family house. The first room he entered was a living room which had a small kitchenette in one corner. But they wouldn't be save here once the gate opened. He looked down at Nyx, who he laid down at the couch which was standing in the room. He had to wake her up. He thought about how he managed to do that, when his roaming eyes saw the faucet in the kitchenette.

He walked towards it, and searched in every cabinet for a bowl. Once he found it, he filled the porcelain bowl with water. The demon walked carefully back towards the woman on the couch.

"Sorry, Nyx." he said apologizing, before he swapped the water out of the bowl onto the black haired female.

Nyx was ripped out of her darkness by the sudden feeling of water splashing at her. With a jolt she shot up into a seating position, eyes wide open. Breathing hardly, she too in her surroundings. She was in an unfamiliar living room on a couch, and next to her was Caster, her old childhood friend. Confused she tried to remembered, when it came back to her. Tears gathered in her eyes.

She remembered it all. But as she was going through her memories everything was tinted in an dark red, like she watched it all through a tinted shade. And she knew that the reason for it, was the anger, hatred and pain she felt. Emotions her demon blood ate and used to control her.

Right now the anger and hatred was gone. For the first time since her parents died, she could see everything clearly, not in an forced crazed revenge possessed mind. Her heart was lifted from the heavy weight of negative emotions, and it felt like she could breath again.

She lifted her eyes towards Caster, and guilt and regret gripped her heart. Her best friend, who tried to save her. Who tried to keep her on the right track. Who she hold so dear, yet she dismissed and insulted him. Tears were overflowing, and blurred her sight.

"Caster...I.. I'm..." she gasped between her words, slipping right into hysterics.

"I know. You don't have to apologize. I'm happy we could break the control your demon blood had over you." he smiled at her lovingly. Slowly he lifted his hand and started to softly rub her head.

"But... All the people I killed, all the things I did...I'm a monster." she sobbed, holding her head with her heads while it hang low. Caster didn't like to see her in such distress. He moved in closer and huge her to his chest.

Surprised, Nyx lifted her head. Caster never hugged her. Not once since she met him.

"No, you're not. You were under the influence of that blood, driven into it by your pain. The Nyx I know is a kind, and good hearted girl, who gave everyone a chance. I know it's hard to just forget it, and you shouldn't, but instead of letting the guilt stop you, try everything to walk the right path again to atone for your sins." The demon said while he still hold her. Then he moved back, but still hold her shoulders. He gazed intensely into her eyes.

"Nyx, you're the most important person to me. Together, we can start anew." he softly spoke, but with determination laced into his voice. The Himmelsjäger stared at him, letting every word run through her mind. The feelings of shame and guilt were overwhelming, and she was disgusted with herself. But Caster gave her the hope that they really could leave the past behind and together walk the path of light into happy life. She would make sure to atone her sins. Nyx couldn't forgive herself for the lives she took, and possibly never will. But she had do deal with that. She had to remember them, in order to honor them, no matter how bad these people treated her.

Nyx tears were still flowing endlessly, but she could muster up a small smile. She throw herself into Caster's arms.

"Thank you, Caster. For giving me back my life. No, not just that. Also for always being there, and coming back for me." she said between her sobs. The demon put his arms around her and tighten them. She was back. His best friend was finally back.

But their sweet reunion was harshly disturbed, as the almost deafening sound of a gate opening remembered them, where they were.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it!:)**

 **So big trouble lies ahead for our heroes in the next few chapters. Stay Tuned!**

 **Also, as I read through the last chapter I noticed, that I made a mistake!XD I captioned Caster as a white haired man, but he has black hair. oops! Just to get it right: Caster has black hair, green slitted eyes (like a reptile) and slightly pointed ears. I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that part. (Probably watched to much Kamisama Hajimemashita :D)**

 **Anyway, I like to thank all of you awesome guys, who left a review, or hit the follow/ favorite button! You're a big reason why I enjoy to write this story!**

 **If you find any mistakes or grammar errors, please leave a review or message me. Thanks for helping!**

 **Bea Cullen Salvatore: Always great to read that people enjoy my writing:)**

 **Alaina Kuski : Thank you very much!:) I'll work hard on it!:)**

 **silentlyfallen: We're all rooting for her;)**

 **kurahieiritr JIO : It's good to be back! Thanks!:) You guessed right. And it's really funny that you're mostly right about what's coming up:D I always enjoy and appreciate your thoughts and opinions! Thank you for always leaving one!:)**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	23. Chapter 22

**Hello my dear readers!**

 **Musical Inspiration: Attack on Titan OST: Hiroyuki Sawano**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the mentioned song.**

* * *

 _Fear._

That feeling gripped their hearts in a strong and merciless hold. Their minds stuck, trying to comprehend what was happening.

The screaming of the people reached their ears, but it was muffled, like they were in another room.

The ground shaking, as the _it_ stepped through the gate.

How foolish they were, to think that the fallen would call on other angels. How bitter the irony on understanding what he meant with hell on earth.

Emerging slowly out of the still glowing gate, was a demon two times the size of Deliora. The head was humanoid, but his jaw was huge with the lower jaw bigger, so that his teeth were in front of his upper lip. The teeth themselves, sharp like the ones of a shark. Its eyes were slitted and glowing in an threatening yellow. The nose lacked the tip, which gave its head the look of a skull. The body was consisting of a pair of unfitting big arms, with the lower arms wearing rusted, blood covered chains. The hands made of bones, which were sharpened to claws. The lower half of the body was covered in black fur and animalistic, with the hind legs of a wolf. On the back of the demon were also many sharp bones protruding out of its back. The skin covering the upper body was grey, and possessed many leaking gashes and scars.

It looked like it stepped right out of the worst nightmares.

Once it emerged fully through the portal, the demon released a loud roar which could be heard through the entire city. Then it raised his right arm, and let it crash down on the house next to him. The building crumbled down in seconds, completely destroyed.

"Fuck." was all the Lighting Mage could come up with at the moment, still trying to fully process what was happening. Lucy at his side was not better. She fought demons before, but those were humanoid shapeshifters, low class demon to be exact. This thing what was now destroying the city, was way more strong. Emotions like fear and horror barged onto her corobice, and while her mind was running wild with finding solutions for the problem, she had difficulties to keep these emotions from breaking in.

Movement at the gate gained her attention. More demons were coming out.

A great variety of different hellish beings appeared, one more frightening and gruesome than the other. The flow continued.

"We have to close the door." the blonde woman announced, her gaze fixed on the gate.

"How? That bastard and the crystal are still protected by the barrier. Your magic couldn't breach it, and I highly doubt mine can." he answered unamused.

"We will physically close it or destroy it." Lucy explained her plan.

"But in order to do that we have to get closer, right into the mass of demons." he didn't hide his clear disagreement.

Lucy was silent, thinking again. Then she sensed magic auras nearing their position. Whipping around she saw Caster and Nyx appearing, onto the roof they stood on. Laxus was growling at the black haired woman. Lucy could heal her all she want, the blonde man still didn't trust her. Caster seeing the tension, stepped in front of his childhood friend.

Lucy ignored the atmosphere, and spoke.

"Are you alright, Nyx?" she asked her fellow Slayer. The Night Himmelsjäger stared at the blonde baffled.

"Why aren't you hostile towards me?" she questioned unbelieving. Except her parents and Caster, no one had been nice o her. All she ever faced was rejection and fear. She couldn't understand why Lucy wasn't the same, when she even attacked her and her friends and being on the enemy's side.

"Why should I? The reason you acted the way you did, and supported Tertius was that you were under control of your demon blood, gripping onto your negative feelings. I erased that control." the blonde explained to her. Nyx still had that surprised look on her face. Now that she was her old self, she noticed the total lack of emotions on the blondes face and in her voice.

"But you don't know what kind of person I am." Nyx added, with an downcast gaze. Caster turned towards her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"All I have to know is that you're a good person, which Caster assured us. Besides, we have an sort of crisis right know, so let's talk about this later." Lucy ended the conversation, and turned back to the gate. Nyx smiled at Caster, which he returned, before they both also shifted their attention to the demons. Laxus watched the exchange and relaxed a bit. He was still wary of the black haired woman but he would forget it, till they had time to discuss it.

"We have to make a way through the horde of demons, to reach the gate. Even if we lucky enough to manage that, we don't know if our magic can destroy it." Laxus growled.

"Magic doesn't have any effect on the gate." Caster said bitterly. The two blondes turned towards him.

"What? But then the flow of demons won't stop!" the blonde Slayer looked panic.

"It will stop. The crystal was made with the intention to open portals for a person. It can't hold up the portal long. It should reach it's end soon. Also the magic has to charge up again, after it was used, so Tertius can only open this once in a certain time period." Laxus was glad the flow of demons pouring into this world would stop, but he was pissed, that he couldn't do a thing about it.

By now the demons spread over the city widely and Lucy could see the colored light of magic, as well as fire and smoke coming from the destroyed buildings. The mages must have started the fight.

"All we can do is fight the demons." Lucy concluded.

"Then let's do it." Laxus agreed, and readied his magic, which let small bolts of lightning dance around his body.

"The big one is mine." Lucy stated, and the four of them headed out.

* * *

"Well, aren't you an ugly thing.. " Gray muttered as he eyed the demon who was approaching him and Juvia.

"Good, that I have just the magic to release you from your misery." The black marking on his forearm appeared, and the temperature dropped a few degrees. The demon growled, and reacted to the threat by charging forward. It had similarities to a bear, but it's fur was red, and his teeth more longer. Also his paws were much larger, and the claws covered in dried blood. But Gray didn't let the appearance unsettle him.

"Ice Demons Rage!" he chanted and released his magic trough his mouth. The magic beam hit the demon head on. It stumbled back. But after the smoke cleared, it still stood, even with his right side being blown away.

"How the fuck..?!" Gray clenched his teeth. This demon were seriously no comparison to Tartaros. They were the real deal.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia brought his attention back. The demon charged again, and the blue haired woman was slowing him down with her water magic.

"Right, sorry!" The rave haired man, readied his magic again, and this time charged forward. Building a sword with ice in his hand, he stroke.

"Hyouma Zero Blade!" he slashed the beast entirely, and from the cuts on it's body, emerged ice, which soon covered the whole body. Gray couldn't sense any life in that thing anymore. He walked back to Juvia, who had a worried look on her face.

"This demon took way more magic than we thought. Juvia is worried, that we exhaust ourselves before we defeat them all." she spoke her worry. Gray eyed his surroundings. He could sense at least twenty demons which were near to them. Even more in the whole city. This would be way harder, than he thought.

"We just have to use the tiniest amount of magic possible on each monster. Calculate your moves and spells." he instructed her. They had to make it. Loosing was not an option.

* * *

Gasping Natsu, Wendy, Meredy and Erza who supported the injured but now awake Jellal, rounded another corner. But the sight of what was happening on the street made them stop.

"Oh my God..." Wendy gasped. A variety of mages from Lamia Scale fought against five demons, but by the look of it, they were not succeeding. Broken and bloodied bodies lay around, not moving anymore. Blood covered the street and the walls of the buildings. Crying and Sobbing as well as screams of the injured filled the air. The sickening sight, as one of the demons bit a mage in half, devouring the unfortunate soul.

Tertius spoke the truth. This was hell on earth.

"We have to help them!" Natsu shouted, already activating his magic. Although they shook in fear, they followed.

Not seconds later Flames, and huge blasts of air were flying through the air, heading towards the demons.

Erza meanwhile, helped Jellal to sit in the ground.

"Stay, here. I'll keep you safe." she vowed him, and released his arm.

"Be careful." he silently said, under the strain of his pain. Wendy could stop the bleeding, and she stitched his wound, but it still hurt like hell. He needed full medical attention, when this whole mess was over.

The redhead nodded, and turned around to face the nearest demon. Glowing for a moment she requipped into her Black Winged Armor. Her sword cut through flesh seconds later.

* * *

"Incoming!" Caster shouted. The fist of the giant demon smashed down, and they were barely able to dodge.

"How can those fucking huge things move so fast?!" Laxus growled strained. Summoning his magic, he let strike his thunder down on the beast. It screamed in pain, but besides some wounds, it was still standing.

"Believe me when I say, that those aren't even the worst ones." Caster said bitterly. The demon threw his head back, and charged up, for another roar of magic.

"NOW!" Caster shouted. Laxus got it. Now while the demon, was readying his attack, his front was unprotected. Charging forward, he let lightning surround his hands, and attacked.

"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!" He threw his fist towards the beast and the lightning left his hand, and speed forward in the form of a spear. Striking the demon right into it's abdomen. The demon stopped his attack, and roared, while it finally went down.

Laxus looked around. No blonde haired woman appeared.

"Damn, we got separated." he growled. Caster was unhappy as well. But he believed in the two Demon Slayer. Laxus was unsettled and didn't like the thought of being separated from Lucy in this situation. The demons still swarmed the city. He concentrated on his senses. Searching for the familiar golden aura of Lucy's magic, he finally found her. She was not that far away. Besides her he could sense a dark purple aura.. He turned into the direction.

"I sense them in this way!" he announced. Only problem was that demons blocked the way.

"Let's fight our way through." The black haired man clenched his fist.

Meanwhile Lucy and Nyx blasted the three demon in front of them from the rooftop of a building.

"Seems like there is no end of them!" Nyx gasped, already noticing the strain the magic use caused.

Lucy heard it, but kept quiet. She looked at the sky. Tertius was gone, and with him the crystal. The worst, he vanished as the demons first attack and everybody was distracted. So there was no hint of to where he escaped. She had to say she didn't expect demons to come out of the gate. They always thought he would bring other fallen angels. While demons were physically stronger than angels, the heavenly beings are way more intelligent. At least a slight silver lining. But none the less the shear mass of demons, who currently swarmed the city, was thirsty for blood and destruction.

Her senses tingled and she was ripped out of her thinking as she had to dodge the fist of the beast. She jumped up. The fist breached trough the roof and disappeared in it. The blonde woman landed on the big wrist.

Commanding her bracelet to become a big two-handed sword, she struck it right down into the rotten flesh. But she didn't stop there. Pushing forward, Lucy ran up the arm, with the sword still down, slicing all the way up. The demon roared, and lifted his other arm, to swat her off . Dodging by jumping down, she pulled out her whip. Rotating in midair, the blonde used the movement and throw her arm out. The whip tangled itself around the throat. She swung herself up again, and landed on the other shoulder. Not loosing any time she plunged her sword right into it's neck. Lifting her hand she used her magic with her fist and pushed the metal deeper. The demon beneath her shrieked, and was beginning to fall.

Jumping in the air doing a flip, she landed on the roof again.

Searching for Nyx she almost missed her, as she was using her cloak to be invisible for the demons. Lucy watched as the blurred image of Nyx fought the other one, using multiple roars. But while searching for Nyx she didn't see the fist of the third demon. She was punched pretty hard, and went flying into the next building, breaking through several walls. She crashed into the fourth one, which stopped her flying body. Groaning she slid to the ground on her back. Huffing for air, Lucy rolled to the side and coughed. The pain in her chest let her assume that some rips may be broken. It was not that fatal, since her body healed itself, but while it was mending itself back together and even for a while after it, it hurts like hell. Adding to the pain was that she hit her head hard enough to let her see blackness for a while.

Slowly the blonde lifted her upper body on her hands, while she repeatedly blinked, trying to shake the blurriness off. Once she gained her sight almost back she recognized that she been thrown into a apartment, to be specifically a bedroom. The one of a child. It was a typical one at that, with light colorful decoration and toys lying everywhere. Looking around her gaze stopped.

There huddled in a corner was a little girl staring at her with wide eyes. Tearstrains marked her cheeks, and she shivered in fear. She couldn't be older than ten. Lucy sat up.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't all citizens be evacuated?" she asked still somewhat out of it. The girl moved her mouth, as if she was searching for the right words, but she remained silent. Lucy wanted to pressure her to speak, but a roar from outside reminded her, that there was a more pressing matter.

"Come, I'll get you out of here." Lucy said and walked to the child and held her hand up to help her off the ground. The child inspected her hand and while she slowly reached out for it, she spoke for the first time.

"Nee-Chan?" she asked with a thin voice, almost whispering. Lucy saw the hope in the eyes of the girl. Lucy was puzzled as to why the girl would call her her sister. But as she scrutinized the variation of different emotions flash through the big childish eyes, she assumed, that the girl had a sister who somewhat looked like her. And wasn't there anymore to help her. Feelings clashed onto her wall as she was reminded of the several persons she lost herself.

She grabbed the girl and lifted her into her arms, holding her like a mother.

"Let's go." Lucy only said as she walked to the whole i the wall. Leaning onto the wall, covering, she looked for the demon. Nyx was fighting the monster, keeping his attention. Lucy used the chance and jumped through out of the building. She landed with bent knees and with her back to the demon. But this position gave the child the view of the beast.

Lucy was figuring out how to get the child to safety, as the girl began to scream bloody murder by the sight of the giant monster. Lucy felt pain in her ears, but she suddenly realized, that the demon could hear them. Turning quickly around, she saw that the demon already turned his head to them, his gaze fixed on the screaming girl in her arms. Even Nyx's attacks were ignored. Lucy began to ran away on feet. She couldn't use her Meteor Magic while she was holding onto another person. The magic would burn them. She heard the pondering footsteps of the giant who began to chase them.

Clutching onto the child she commanded her legs to give it all. She turned her head, and saw the monster with the much longer legs, closing in. She turned a corner, and the demon hungry for human flesh just barged into the edge of the building, tearing it apart like it was nothing. Parts of stone and wood flew through the street, crashing and destroying several other buildings. One large piece of brick crashed into the cobblestone right behind Lucy, throwing her off balance. She fell forward. In the fall she lost her grip on the crying girl. Both landing harshly on the ground, Lucy again hitting her head. The blurriness came back while she laid on her stomach.

Hearing the roar and the crying of the girl, she lifted her head, trying to get on her feet again, but the exhaustion of all the using of magic finally kicked in. She couldn't move. With an shivering hand, which laid in front of her head, she tried to reach for the girl, who sat on her knees several meters in front of her. The little girl held her left arm, which was lifelessly hanging down, indicating that it was broken. The shaking of the earth warned the blonde of the demon, but even if she wanted to move she couldn't.

Shadow fell upon her, and the demon stepped over her, walking to the girl which was paralyzed by fear.

"No... no... don't... Take me..." Lucy said exhausted. But the words didn't do anything. She had to watch as the demon picked up the girl, who was now screaming and struggling, and ripped her apart with it's teeth.

Blood flew everywhere, also landing on the blonde.

Lucy felt the shock. It surrounded her mind wall, and broke through it, like the corobice was nothing. It gripped her heart. With wide brown eyes she stared at the scene. Million thoughts per second ran through her mind. Then it became quite in her head. Somewhere deep in her unconscious she registered a movement and her eyes shifted towards it.

Laying there in front of her was the severed hand of the girl.

The silence was broken.

Lucy screamed with all the air she had in her lungs.

* * *

 **Hope you like it!**

 **So yeah... it got pretty dark pretty fast... But that's why I put the rating from T to M.**

 **And again a cliffhanger. SORRY! (Don't chase me with forks!)**

 **But yeah, Demons roaming the earth again, Laxus and Caster Teaming up and Lucy's corobice breaking. Phew... That part took me a long time to write it down. I had a very exact vision on my head, and I struggled to find the right words, to describe it. I'm still mending the headache I got from all the thinking while I'm writing this.**

 **I will try my best to get the next chapter down as soon as possible.**

 **Bea Cullen Salvatore:** **Glad you enjoyed it!:)**

 **Alaina** **Kuski:** **That's the reaction I intended to get! :D**

 **kurahieiritr JIO:** **You're right. The real story is about to begin. The whole conflict just started. There is a lot more to come! At this point I'd also like to thank you, for always finding the time to leave long, detailed reviews! I like to see the reaction of my readers, and to hear their opinion and thoughts. Without you and the other reviewers I wouldn't have the joy to continue to write. So a really big thanks towards you!**

 **Thank you all for reading!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	24. Chapter 23

**Greetings folks!**

 **To get the right vibe for this chapter: Kill La Kill OST/ Nui Harime Theme (composed by Hiroyuki Sawano)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the mentioned music**

* * *

Everything was black. A black so deep, she was not sure if her eyes were open or not.

She could hear nothing. Trying to move, she registered that her body felt heavy, as if she were deep underwater, like a mass was pushing her down.

The silence was broken by a laugh. A very evil cackle.

 _"Finally."_ a female voice spoke. She turned around, but she couldn't find the source.

She wanted to speak, to ask who was there, but her throat couldn't produce any sound.

 _"You don't mind, taking your body right?"_ more laughing. But this time the voice came from behind her and she turned around. Floating in front of her was a female. But her appearance made it clear that she wasn't human.

Long, curly hair with the color of the deep galaxy, framed a petite face. Pointed ears loomed through the masses of hair. Purple slitted eyes glowing and mesmerizing. Her body thin, and short in height. She wore a blue long-sleeved dress which reached her knees. The material scraggly and ripped at the end. Her feet bare. The demon started to smirk, and revealed sharp and long canines.

 _"Oh, don't look at me like that. You know me very well. Trapped in your mind, by that disgusting angel magic, but I was always with you."_ The dark blue haired female sneered. She saw the recognition and then the confusion in the eyes of the blonde.

 _"Why you can see me now? Well, the corobice which held your soul together is broken. It is once more shattered. And while you will die, I'll take control over your body from here on. I was long enough trapped. It's time to come out and play."_

The demonic female vanished like she was blown away by the wind, and Lucy was alone in the darkness again. Her body felt more heavier each second, and she knew all the struggle was in vain. All she could do was wait for her end to come.

* * *

Only few more monsters, and he would be with her again. Feeling the familiar buzzing through his veins, he prepared another attack. His muscle meanwhile struggled with the strain. His body covered in several gashes and bruises. Soon he would reach his limit.

Laxus gritted his teeth, he commanded his body to move. As long as he was not by Lucy's side he wouldn't give up.

He smashed his fist into the abdomen of one particularly nasty demon. Screeching it felt down, defeated. The Dragon Slayer huffed.

Then he heard a scream, that he would never forget as long as he lived. His body stopped moving, his veins froze. A violent shudder made his way down his back. He could hear the emotions in the piercing shriek, the utter defeat and agony. But what was more disturbing for him, was that he recognized the source as Lucy.

Not even looking at Caster or the remaining demons, he shifted his body into lightning and speed towards the source. Not even a second later he landed. The sight made his heart stop. There lying on the ground was Lucy. Her body covered in bruises and gashes, dirt and blood smeared all over her skin. She held her hands to her head, and was looking down, unmoving. A huge demon with blood all over his mouth, slowly closing in on her.

Acting on instincts, Laxus let a Lightning Roar loose, which ripped right through the body of the monster. As it came down, the earth shook, but he ignored it, as he rushed towards the blonde female. Landing on his knees besides her, Laxus shook her while calling out her name. His instincts noticed the two persons who were stepping towards him, and he recognized them as Caster and Nyx.

But his whole attention was on the blonde who didn't answer him. He turned her body around, and was that she was unconscious. He shook her again, but the result remained the same. As he further inspected her, he saw that her magical aura was messed up. It lost color, and shifted all around the place.

"What happened?!" he asked and he couldn't keep the panic out of his voice. But he couldn't care less at this moment.

"I was fighting, when I saw her running with a girl in her arms. A demon chased her. I didn't saw what happened." Nyx explained. She was worried, too. Lucy was the one who saved her from the darkness, and even if she wouldn't like the blonde, she was still indebted to her.

"Then where is the child?" Caster asked, trying to approach the matter with logic. Looking around the scene, he saw the debris of the crushed buildings lying all over the street, and a particular just behind Lucy. But then his gaze stopped.

Lying there was a severed hand. And by the size of it, it must have belonged to a child.

"Dammit." he cursed, Sorrow gripping his chest. He got a vague idea of what happened. Nyx and Laxus looked at him, as he cursed, and he pointed towards the cold limb on the ground. The black haired female gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Laxus balled his fist.

"It must have happened right in front of her." Caster concluded. Laxus looked down at Lucy's face again. He lifted on hand and gently stroke her cheek.

"It is most likely that her corobice broke." Caster gritted out. The blonde slayer gritted his teeth as anger and guilt spread through him. Anger because he didn't know a way to help her, and guilt because he wasn't there for her. Then panic entered her mix. Her corobice broke. Does that mean she will die? What can he do? He can't loose her.

His thoughts were interrupted as suddenly his hands were burned. Out of reflex he let go of Lucy's skin. Perplexed he blinked, as he saw that Lucy glowed purple. The light intensified, and the three had to cover their eyes.

Suddenly, a huge wave of magical pressure threw the unprepared mages back as a purple colored beam shot towards the sky. They landed a few meters away from her, grunting. The light ceases, and confused about what happened they opened their eyes and they widened once they took in the scene.

Lucy stood there still and hunched over, her shoulders and head hanging down. Her hair concealed her face. A bad feeling settled in Laxus gut. Something was definitely not right. Why was Lucy standing? And what was that purple light. Still not knowing what took place in front of him, and what to do, he just stared. Caster and Nyx were the same.

Then Lucy's shoulder began to shook slightly. The shaking increased, and they heard crazy sounding cackling as the blonde throw her head back. An ice cold shower went down Laxus back. The laughing sounded nothing like Lucy and his apprehension grew.

The Himmelsjäger straightened her posture and smirked in a disturbing way. Then she opened her eyes. Again their eyes widened in shock and gassing could be heard. Her once brown eyes were purple with slitted pupils. Adding to the intimidating appearance was the dark glow they held. Registering movement Laxus eyes wandered to her arms. Black markings, like they saw when Lucy used her demon blood, started to ran her arms up, and seconds later stopped in her face on her cheeks. He was sure her whole body was covered with the black pattern. But the most disturbing thing about this whole thing was that the emotionless face they were used to, was clearly showing emotions. None of them was helping to ease his bad feeling. Standing there was not the woman he came to love. It was someone else.

The blonde woman sighed, before she stretched her hands out and closed her fist a few times, as if she was testing something out.

"Not bad, for a human body. I can deal with that." she spoke. Laxus cringed at how Lucy's voice could sound so wrong to him.

"Lucy..?" Caster asked confused. Blonde hair whipped trough the air, as the person in Lucy's body turned her head to the black haired man. She mustered him for a few seconds, before her face shifted into a disgusted mimic.

"You. You the one fighting for the humans, right? The pet of that one angel?" she smirked, as she insulted him. Caster looked at her with a scowl. His assumption of what happened confirmed to be true. Ignoring the insults the spoke.

"Who are you?! Let go of Lucy's body!" he nearly shouted. The woman smirked again.

"Or what else? You wouldn't hurt the body of your comrade, right?" she sneered back. Laxus growled. His instincts raged inside of him. They shouted at him to fight that person who took over Lucy's body, but he couldn't hurt her.

"But you know what? I'm in a good mood right now, so I will tell you. My name is Stellpura. I'm the demonic counterpart of Astrael. Created by the three masters to counter the forces of the angels. I'm a demon of the highest class." she explained proudly.

"But why were you trapped in the bloodline of the Star Himmelsjäger, then?" Caster countered, half curious half harassing. The demon snarled, but still answered.

"Astrael that bastard! We were fighting when he blinded me, and as I was covering my eyes, he casted a spell on me! I was frozen and he took so much blood from me that my body died. But my conscious remained inside the blood, as well as the ones of my brothers who's blood were used for the abomination you call Himmelsjäger! I was sleeping through the years, until this little girl shattered her soul. The magic who bound me shattered, and I awoke. I waited for the moment her control slipped, and I could take over!" She explained, at crazily laughed at the end. Laxus clenched his fist at the mentioning of Lucy.

"What happened to Lucy?!" Nyx asked angrily. The demon stopped her laughing but still smirked.

"She is alive. For now. As we speak her life forces are withering away, because of the shattered state of her soul. Once she's gone, her body will fully belong to me!" The glint in those purple eyes increased. Agony gripped Laxus heart, and it became nearly impossible to hold himself back from punching the demon inside Lucy's body.

There talking was interrupted as another huge demon walked up on them around the corner. They all turned towards it.

"I see. You all came out to play, huh? Well you did so, without the command of _her majesty_. For that, I shall punish you all." the female demon said. She lifted her hand with an open palm. Nyx, Laxus and Caster were still confused about what she just said, as she let her curse magic loose. Without further moving she produce a gigantic magic beam with purple color towards the demon. The pressure was huge and let the two mages and demon fly backwards again. The beam shot forward and eradicated everything it touched.

Laxus and Caster, who protected Nyx, looked up, and saw the enormous display of power. There was nothing left of the demon, as well as the street or the buildings which the curse touched. Just like that she erased the monster with one move. The pressure of her aura they felt now were as powerful as Tertius. Caster looked at the ground stunned. If Stellpura was as strong as that, how could they ever overpower her? What are they going to do to save Lucy? He felt hopeless. But then he saw lightning cackle out of the corner of his eyes.

"Lucy! I know you can hear me! Fight her! Come back!" Laxus shouted, his magic flaring up. Caster blinked at him. The male mage was still believing in Lucy. Laxus didn't give up on believing in her. There had to be a way to bring her back!

"The little girl is gone. Dead. Shut up, before I kill you first, instead of the demons." The false Lucy said to him with an annoyed expression. Laxus gritted hid teeth. he wanted to scream and fight, but he know he couldn't do it alone. She was too strong for him. But then he got an idea. He held up his angry expression, but remained silent. Purple eyes watched him, and waited for a comeback. When none came she spoke.

"Good boy. Now onto you lowlifes..." she said, as she turned around facing the demons, who still wrecked the town. She jumped up to the next building and ran to the monster next to her.

"What is your plan?" Caster asked Laxus, once he was sure the false Lucy was out of hearing range. At first he was confused as to why Laxus suddenly backed down after he shouted at her. But he believed that the blonde Slayer must have got an idea. Laxus looked determined.

"We go get the others. Alone, none of us would stand a chance against her. But together we can do something." he explained.

"But if we hurt her, we hurt Lucy!" Nyx exclaimed panicked. She didn't like to have more blood on her hand.

"We won't hurt her. I noticed that Erza, Natsu and Meredy behaved suspiciously after we left the library. I think they have a plan on healing Lucy." the blonde man continued to explain his thoughts.

"Well, then let's go. I hope we can find them quickly. Time is running out for Lucy." Caster added with an grim expression. Laxus nodded. They stood up and jumped onto the next roof to get a better view. The Lightning mage concentrated and expensed his sense. He searched for any familiar magic aura or smell. After a second he could pick up the smell of smoke and a forest, as well as an cold and blue magic aura. He opened his eyes.

"You two go in this direction. Natsu and some others should be there. I'll catch up after I got Gray." he commanded. Caster knew he was meaning business because he didn't use any nicknames for the two other males. Caster nodded, and took Nyx hand. The two hurried to said location. Laxus didn't wait and hurried to the direction where he sensed the ice mage.

Jumping from the roof he transferred his body into lightning. He speed through the streets. With only one goal, he ignored the demons, the destruction and the death he passed by. He knew he was selfish, but for him Lucy's life was the most important thing at the moment. With this thought he arrived at Gray's location. He transferred back to his body, and just as he arrived he saw Gray finishing another huge demon. Besides him was Juvia who caught her breath for a moment.

The ice mage sensed him coming and turned towards him.

"Laxus! What..." he began to speak, but was rudely interrupted by the blonde Slayer.

"No time to explain. Follow me!" he barked rushed, and ran again. Gray just blinked perplexed by Laxus's unusual behavior but he noticed the desperation in him. Grabbing Juvia he threw her on her back, who gasped surprised. Then he followed the older mage.

Laxus was annoyed he couldn't teleport back, but it was impossible. Gray had to follow him, since he didn't know where to go. And he couldn't use his Lightning body and carry them, because of Juvia's water body. He would hurt her badly. So gritting his teeth, he pushed forward, hoping Gray could keep up. But since he heard the footsteps behind him, he know the ice mage was close by.

"Now that we're running, care to explain the rush?" Gray asked the blonde running in front of him.

Laxus told him what happened to Lucy, while he navigated them through the streets. He used his senses to avoid any contact with demons, while not loosing track. Sometimes the earth shook, and he could see the purple curse magic, raging through the city. At this rate, the whole city would be ashes soon.

"Fuck! Now of all times something like this happens!" Gray cursed. He didn't know how to handle the fear he had for his 'sister', so he poured it all out in anger.

Laxus didn't answer. Finally they saw the rest of the group. Taking in their appearance the lightning mage saw that they were in no better state than him. Exhaustion clearly visible, as well as many injuries. Erza was stabilizing Jellal, who was very pale and huffing. Natsu almost completely covered in blood, but from the smell, Laxus knew it wasn't just his. Wendy was helping Meredy, who sat on the ground. She had a nasty gash on her neck. But all of it had to wait. Lucy's life was in danger.

"Caster. Did you explain the situation?" He asked him, in a serious voice. The demon nodded. Laxus wanted to speak again, but Meredy was faster.

"Erza brought me a book, with a special magic spell in it. It could save Lucy's soul."

* * *

Stellpura was laughing madly as she twirled through the air. Feeling the power in her veins, she let another blast of her curse magic loose. Another two demons turned into nothing, as well as another row of buildings. She heard the screaming of human mages, who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast.

"Oopsie!" she laughed as she landed on a rooftop. She was enjoying her freedom to the max. It had been long 400 years. 400 years of silence and darkness. Her conscious was trapped inside the blood. She hadn't been really awake but she had memories of some of the previous Himmelsjäger. Blurred pictures sometimes came up and she often confused them to be her own.

Anger brew in her. Astrael would pay for trapping her inside the enemy. Since her awakening, as the soul of the girl shattered, she patiently waited for a opportunity. While waiting she often entertained herself with taunting the girl. How could she not? Everything the blonde saw, heard, thought or felt. All of that she experienced, too.

While she was happy that the unleashing of the demons caused the corobice to break, she was out for vengeance.

Not only did Tertius messed up the order of hell with letting these middle rank demons loose, but the purple haired female had murderous intention towards him. After all he was the one who killed her brother.

But that bastard was gone, and left some mess behind. She would kill all demons, then those annoying brats the girl traveled with, and then she would hunt that son of bitch down. These thoughts let her smirk.

The smirk soon vanished as she sensed an incoming attack. Turning towards it she saw a blast of fire heading straight towards her. She smirked again. She stepped to the side, the blast missing by mere inches, while she remained calm like it was just a fly flying by.

"That's all you got?" she taunted as she saw the source. The pink haired Dragon Slayer glared from the street down below. Did he know she was inside the girls body?

Her senses warned her again, and this time it was an army of swords which rained from above her. She avoided those with several flik-flaks. She landed on the street.

"You really want to hurt the girl's body?" she sneered. She couldn't see the female knight who sent the swords. But she had no time for searching as an Unsion Raid of water and ice headed her way. It was an enormous wave containing thousands of sharp Ice shards. She couldn't dodge in time.

But Stellpura wasn't frightened. She held up her hand, and formed a ball out of her curse magic. She threw it towards the wave, and as the two attacks collided, the ball exploded and destroyed the enemy's attack. But the collision caused dust and steam to build and covered the whole street.

"You really think you can take on me with that?!" she was getting annoyed by swatting away the flies.

"No, but it can distract you." a male voice suddenly spoke right from behind her. She didn't even had the chance to react as a big hand touched her back. She gritted her teeth in pain as electricity cursed through the body, letting the muscles cramping. Those bastards were beginning to annoy her. With a slight fear she realized, that she couldn't move. The electricity paralyzed her.

"Now!" the man behind her shouted, before she could come up with a solution. Lifting her gaze, as she sensed someone nearing, she saw a raven haired man as well as a blue haired one, who was supported by a female with pink hair. All of them friends of the girly. She began to growl. She wanted to move, and annihilate those worms, but she still couldn't move.

The raven haired mage, put one fist on his other opened palm and chanted. Suddenly it went cold, and solid ice began to cover her feet. Quickly it went up to her neck, stopping there.

"Meredy!" the blue haired commanded, and the woman stepped towards her. Again Stellpura growled, and to her satisfaction she could see the fear in the eyes of the girl. But regardless the girl still lifted her hand and laid it on her forehead. The now hobbling blue haired man stepped to her side, but a massive hand stopped him by his chest.

"Let me do it." said the big mage dead serious. For a second they held each other's gazes, before the injured man stepped back. Without any other word, bubble gum head took the massive hand of the blonde man.

Then she began to chant, and Stellpuras mind went black.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Well, things really escalated quickly in this chapter, but I had a great time writing Stellpuras character. Hope you like her as well!**

 **If you have any suggestions, ideas or saw mistakes or errors, leave a review or message me!**

 **As always, (I must sound like a broken tape recorder by now) I like to thank the awesome people who supported this story by following/ favoriting it or leaving reviews!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	25. Chapter 24

**Hello, my dear readers!**

 **I swear i would have released this chapter way sooner, but one of my friends had serious problems and as much as I like to write my friends and family will always come first. Still, I apologize and hope you can understand.**

 **Musical Inspiration: Imagine Dragons - Dream (slow version)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the mentioned song.**

* * *

Everything would depend on this one spell. If they wouldn't work, there wouldn't be any time left, to try something different. To say, Laxus was on edge was understated.

They came up with the plan as they located her position. After Meredy explained the spell to all of them they wasted no time and hurried towards the demon in Lucy's body. They would all distract her with their attacks, while Laxus would approach her and immobilize her with his lightning. A plan with many risks, but with the pressure of the ticking clock, they settled with it.

To all of their luck the plan actually worked smoothly. Meredy was about to work her magic, as Laxus stepped up. He gave a promise to Mavis to be the one that would protect and support Lucy. And even without the promise he wouldn't hesitate to volunteer. All the life threatening situations they've been through in the last two weeks showed to him that he hold the blonde haired woman dear to him. He even came to realize that he was in love with her. It was hard for him to understand it, because he never felt that way about anyone. Sure, he loved his grandfather and his team, but Lucy claimed an entirely different spot in his heart.

As he stood there he sensed Meredy's magic flaring up, after she touched the forehead of Lucy's body. He saw as the demon slumped down, unconscious. Not even a second later he felt the pink magic from the woman beside him entering his system. Instinctly his body tried to resist, but against his nature he let the magic flow into his body.

His senses became engulfed into a pink magic, and it felt like he was transported into a different place. It was a closed of room, with nothing in it. All he could see was white, and his other senses couldn't pick anything up. Meredy warned them, and explained what would happen.

With this spell she would transport a person into Lucys mind. But after this, it would get difficult. The spell was invented to do just that. Letting someone entering another one's mind. Meredy and the others only came up with the idea of using it to fix Lucy's soul. The pink haired woman, told him that he most likely would have to bring back the pieces of Lucy's soul. Did he mentioned before, that the plan was risky?

But to no avail, they had no other choice but to try it. So Laxus was now in this white room or dimension, and tried to figure out what to do. Out of ideas, he took a step forward. Light at his feet gained his attention, and exactly where his foot stood, it was pulsating. Lifting his feet, the light spread. It ran across the ground and split into four different branches. The light spread for a few meters, before each branch suddenly spread into the air, and after a few moments they stopped their moving. Around him were now four golden doors, who seemed to stand alone.

Laxus was unsure of what to do. Should he enter one of it? But if he entered would he be able to come back? Is one door more 'right', than the other? Reminding himself that the time was running out, he just decided to open the one in front of him. Carefully turning the door knob, he heard the soft click, that indicated that the door was opened. Taking one last deep breath he pulled it open.

There in front of him were a whole different scene. Now he was standing inside of a large corridor. It was decorated with a long red carpet, several paintings and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Little tables with vase that contained flowers, were precisely placed every five meters. Overall, it looked like he stood in a mansion. Red light shone through the huge windows and announced the ending of the day.

Laxus was confused. Where the heck was he? Looking around he couldn't find anything that could help him figure out where he was. Then he heard sobbing. It sounded like it was coming from a girl. The Dragon Slayer was curious and went to the direction it was coming from. Walking down the corridor the sound got louder and after he passed several doors, he found one slightly opened.

Since he didn't know where he was he tried to remain undetected. Pressing his back on the wall, he cautiously neared the door, and slowly turned his head. There in the room where three people. But the scene he was spectating pulled at his heartstrings. A man stood at the end of the bed. He had trimmed back brown hair as well as a beard. He wore a expensively looking brown suit. But the most striking about him, was that he held his head down, while silent tears ran down from his closed eyes.

The second person was a little girl. She was leaning over the edge of the bed, her head laid down on her arms. Her blonde hair covered her face, but her quivering and shaking body revealed that she was the source of the sobbing.

The third and last person was the reason why the man and the girl cried. A woman laying awfully still in the bed. Laxus was shocked for a moment, because the female was like the exact replica of Lucy. But he corrected himself. The woman looked older than the Lucy that he knew, so that meant...

He was watching the scene of Lucy's mother dying. As if she heard what he thought, the little girl lifted her head, and screamed, while her eyes were closed. Laxus recognized some features of the blonde woman he loved on that child's face and it only confirmed what he concluded. The little girl was Lucy.

He heard that Lucy's mother died when she was young. When he came back from his exile, he asked about the blonde who managed to beat Bixlow. Freed told him everything he knew, and since that he was fascinated. Because both of them lost their mother. But while he locked his pain inside of him, and lashed out on everyone who tried to help him, he became the bitter man he was before his banishment. But Lucy, who even knew her mother and lost her, could smile and be the amazing person she was.

But apparently the scar this tragedy caused didn't fully heal. Jellal told them that her soul broke because of too many happenings like that she never fully overcame. Watching this scene now, Laxus concluded that it was like that. And for the first time he wondered how much pain the blonde carried around even before her soul shattered.

Suddenly the whole room was shifting. Objects lost their forms as well as the walls and the floor, and after few seconds of moving, he stood in a whole different room. Panicked at first, that he would fall or vanish as well, he let out a relieved sigh that he was still safe. The sound of shifting let him froze. He took in his surroundings. He stood in a large office. Huge windows let in light, and enormous bookcases covered the walls. Standing in front of the window was a expensive looking desk. Sitting behind it, was the man from before, Lucy's father as he recognized now. He was working over a huge stack of papers, and he was frowning while he scribbled furiously on the sheets.

Laxus still stood unmoving there. Hadn't the man heard him? Confused he took another step towards the desk, intentionally making more sound with his steps. But the man didn't look up, and Laxus know he couldn't see or hear him. It was like he was a ghost. So he didn't had to worry that he was discovered. But that didn't answer the question on what his take here was.

A quite knocking ripped him out of his thoughts. The man's frown became heavier as he barked at the person behind the wooden doors to come in. Entering the office was a ten years old Lucy. She wore a pink dress, white socks and tiny black shoes. She wore a part of her hair up, like she did when she became a member of the guild. Laxus couldn't help but to find the younger version of Lucy adorable. She held a rice ball in her hand and stepped towards the desk. She had a smile on her face, but the blonde man could see the nervousness in her big brown eyes.

"Hey Daddy! I made a rice ball for you!" the little girl said happily while presenting him her work. The man didn't react for a few seconds, but then he spoke.

"I'm working. Go away." he exclaimed cold. Laxus was stunned. How could a father speak so coldly and annoyed to his daughter? He know from his own, that not every father was perfect, and that certainly not every parent loved their child, but to just ignore his child like that...

The smile on little Lucy's face disappeared, and she lowered her head. She turned towards the door and slowly walked out. But then she turned again as she began to speak again, but she was interrupted by the screaming of her dad.

"Didn't I tell you, you're bothering me, Lucy!?" he shouted at the little girl. Lucy winced in fear and she had a terrified expression. Laxus watched the scene shocked at the pure cruelty as the shouting didn't stopped there.

"Cooking will be done by our chefs! If you have time for something like that, go do your studies!" the man, Laxus was bitter about to call her father, had stood up and leaned on his hands over the desk, to reinforce his words. The shaking girl stood there with wide, opened terrified eyes.

"NOW GET OUT!" were his last words. Little Lucy, hurried out of the room, and Laxus followed her, worried about her.

Once the big doors were closed, Lucy slipped down the wall and sat there with her knees to her chest. She was sobbing and still shaking. Laxus was angry.

"But...but today is my...it's my birthday..." the girl exclaimed quietly and Laxus rage was gone. Now he was sad. Sad that Lucy had a childhood like this. He could see himself in her. When his father lost his cool, and beaten him, he was just like her cowering and sobbing.

Laxus was never good with crying girls. Sometimes he was annoyed, other times he was clueless about what to do. But right now, he didn't even think about what to do. He stepped towards the girl, and took her in his arms. The girl didn't wince or resisted his hug, she grab his shirt, and pushed herself harder into his chest, holding onto him like a lifeline. He rubbed her back and just remained still, while she let everything out.

After a while he did speak. "You know, not everything is bad. One day you will run away. You will meet a family who will love and protect you. You will be happy. Things may seem bad right now, but life is for the living to enjoy. There are so many adventures you can go on. You just have to push onward to a happy future." he didn't know that he could talk like that, but the words came right from his heart. It felt right to say.

The small girl looked up to him, and while she still had tears in her eyes, she wore a smile.

"Thank you, Laxus." she said. The blonde man was surprised she knew him.

"What..? How..?" he stuttered, and the girl began to laugh.

"I'm Lucy's Joy. A part of her soul. You saved me out of my nightmare." she said with a grateful smile. Trying to find words he stuttered for a while, which made little Lucy laugh again. She let go of his shirt and stood up. Laxus eyes widened when he saw that her body was glowing and slowly starting to disappear. Panicked he gripped her hand, but she just smiled.

"Don't worry, it's alright. I'm waiting at the lowest ground for you. Save the other soul parts!" she reassured him, before she completely vanished. Laxus was absolutely confused. Where did she go? What was the lowest ground? Standing up he thought about it. Apparently he unintentionally saved a shard of the blondes soul. What did she said? 'You saved me out of my nightmare'. Was every shard stuck in a nightmare? Did that meant that the four doors, would each lead him into such an situation? His gut told him, that he were on the right track. As if someone would heard what he thought, the environment changed again.

He was back in the white room from the beginning, but this time, only three doors surrounded him.

"Alright then..." he mumbled to himself and opened the next door.

This scene was much more familiar to him, then the last one. Right now he was standing in the Domaus Flau. The big stadium where the Grand Magic Games took place. The ranks were full with cheering people, and the participating guilds were spectating from their exclusive booths. But Laxus wasn't paying any attention to that, because he stood right in the middle of the arena. Suddenly a very unsettling feeling settled in his gut. Turning his head, to the right he flinched.

There was Lucy, being tortured by the crazy bitch from Raven Tail. She had her hair wrapped around Lucy's head and threw her through the arena, smashing her body continuously on the ground.

Laxus saw it all before, but back than, his feelings for the blonde didn't go as deep as right now. His veins burned with his rage, and he would gladly help her out of the situation. He all knew about that Lucy didn't fought back, because that bitch was threatening Askuas life, but he was here right now. He could beat her in one attack, so the redhead wouldn't even know what happened, or have the time to react and hurt the little girl.

His lightning already buzzing around his body, he shot forward. Flare was whipping her aflame hair on Lucy, who was lying on the ground covering herself as much as she could. Laxus concentrated his magic around his fist and let it fly.

But to his shock, his lightning bolt went straight through Flare, whithout doing any damage. And the red haired was continuing to torture Lucy, like his attack wasn't there. Realization dawned on him, and a cold shiver went down his back. It was like Lucy's father. He was only spectating. They couldn't see or hear, or physically touch him. As well as he couldn't touch them. But he held little Lucy without thinking, so why couldn't he now?

As he was trying to understand he watched as Flare lifted Lucy's body with her hair, talking about the things she could do to the Celestial mage. Ripping her clothes apart or burning the Raven Tail insignia on her guild mark, for eternity. Laxus was frustrated and blinded by his rage. Again and again he tried to strike the redhead but the result always remained the same. His fist didn't make any contact with the body, it was like he was punching the air.

Growling he stopped.

"Please, stop this. I can't watch this..." he even tried begging but it didn't work and he was forced to watch the brutal beating Lucy received as he could do nothing to stop it.

Then he heard Natsu's screaming. Right he remembered. Lucy was going to cast that huge spell. And as it all unfolded before his eyes he saw how beautiful and strong she looked in all that golden light.

But then it all vanished. That weird dude from Raven Tail canceled all of her magic.

Helpless he watched as Lucy fell to the ground. Flare sneered some nonsense and the crowd began to talk shit about the blonde. In this moment he realized how humiliated Lucy must have felt. Her body began to shook and she laid there crying.

 _"Am I still not strong enough?"_ he suddenly heard her voice in his head. Watching her confused, he saw that her mouth wasn't moving. So where did her voice come from?

 _It doesn't matter. I'll always be weak."_ Her voice spoke again, and it dawned on him, that it must be her thoughts.

"No, no no! You're not weak!" he shouted at her, but she didn't react. She still couldn't hear him. Laxus was getting desperate. He was walking to the blonde but she suddenly vanished.

"What the fuck?" Laxus exclaimed surprised. This time the scene didn't change. A drop of water on his shoulder made him look up, and he gritted his teeth. The Naval battle.

"Please, no..." he mumbled. There in this big ball of water was Minerva beating the crap out of Lucy. And again he was forced to watch. He heard the sound of slapping and Lucy's whimpers of pain, and he balled his fists so hard, that his nails broke the skin on his palm.

Then the whimpers stopped, but not the sound of punching. By now she lost conscious. And while he was glad she couldn't feel the pain anymore, he knew that if Wendy and Chelia weren't there she wouldn't have made it through. She would have died.

 _"And again, I was not strong enough. I'm hiding behind my friends and spirits, and without them, I'm unable to do anything."_ Again he heard her thoughts, and he whimpered. Was that really what she thought about herself?

 _"I'm just a punching bag. I can't fight back.."_ hearing this was torture for him. Frustrated he gripped his hair.

Then the sound of fighting stopped and he looked up. Minerva held her limp body out of the water. He remembered that Lucy's teammates were running into the arena and caught her as she fell. But as he looked around no one was there.

But before he could thought about it, Minerva let her fall down. He didn't even thought a second about it, as he rushed forward. His instinct made his body move on his own, and with a heavy impact he caught her. He turned around so he was the one to impact with the ground. But he barley felt the pain, because his whole attention was on the blonde, who laid still in his arms.

"Lucy!...Wake up! Please!" he shook, her as he shifted, so she was laying in his lap.

 _"I will never be as strong as my friends."_ her thoughts were even louder and he gripped her tighter.

"Stop this! You're strong, Lucy! You were never weak! Strength is not measurable in how much we can lift or what flashy spells we can cast! It's you heart! And I never met such a powerful one like yours!" he shouted at her and at the last part he closed his eyes, which were getting wet.

"No one, could have endured all the physical and emotional pained you suffered. You're stronger than everyone, heck, you could surpass even Gildarts if you set your mind on it. So please, stop this nonsense talking!" he ranted on. A sudden soft feeling on his cheek made him open his eyes. Relief spread through him, as he gazed in those big, beautiful brown eyes. She had lifted her hand and softly touched his cheek.

"You really think so?" she asked him almost whispering. He couldn't stop the smile on his lips.

"Of course. But not just me, everyone thinks so." he assured her honestly. Because everything he said, he believed fully.

"Thank you." she said with a more steady voice as she smiled even wider.

"So... you must be Lucy's strength, I guess?" he concluded from the scene. She nodded.

"And thanks to you, I can finally return to my sisters." she said with a smile. Laxus blinked.

"Sisters?" he asked confused.

"Yeah, we're soul parts of Lucy, and we call each other sisters." she explained to him.

"So...ok, and how many are existing?" he asked.

"Many. But only four were broken apart from the others." she continued explaining. Good that meant, he only had two more to go.

Lucy's body was vanishing in light like the younger version of her.

"I'll see you soon, Laxus." she said her goodbye to him. He smiled and nodded. Standing up, he felt the emotional exhaustion from experiencing those vision. By now he had a rough idea of what he was supposed to do. But there were two more, and he gathered and prepared himself mentally for the next vision.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Thanks to all the readers and amazing people, who left a review or hit the follow/ favorite button!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Kitty**


	26. Not a chapter! Just info!

**Hello my dear readers!**

 **Sorry, this is not a new chapter!**

 **I apologize for the long time I haven't posted a new chapter. While getting a new roommate (which includes transporting a few pieces of furniture back to my hometown, as well as rearranging everything new) and starting my new job, I was so spent every evening as I came home, that my mind was just not able to produce anything worth writing down.**

 **But since the chaos that is my life started to calm down for once, I got time to write again! Hussaaaa!**

 **Also I read your reviews, (which I'm very thankful for) and as kindly advised, I decided to get a Beta-Reader. As I mentioned multiple times, English is not my native tongue. I'm german, trying to improve my language.**

 **So in order to deliver you guys a story with the correct use of grammar and spelling, I'm searching for a kind and patient soul who would read my work before posting.**

 **If you're up to it just message me!**

 **I'm looking forward hearing from you!**

 **I hope I get the chapter done quickly, so you guys get to know what happens next!**

 **Until then,**

 **Kitty**


	27. Chapter 25

**I'm alive! (and yes you can put your pitchforks down..)**

 **I'm really sorry for the delay, but it was necessary! Because I finally found a Beta Reader! She did amazing work with this chapter and I'm so happy that she is willing to put up with my grammar/spelling-mistakes!**

 **So that's why I'd like to give a big shout out to her! MWolfe13, thank you so much!**

 **So let's finally continue the story!**

 **Musical Inspiration: Colorblind - Counting Crows**

 **As always: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

 _Well, this seems rather familiar_ , Laxus mused in his thoughts.

Heat surrounded him, caused by the several fires burning wood and stone. His eyesight was hindered by the constant smoke. His ears were nearly bleeding by the inhuman screeching from the colossal metal bird.

Yes, he was in that stupid town. Its name was already forgotten, along with their dumb as fuck emperor who he couldn't care less about. What he cared about was the huge Phoenix with its glowing red eye that was currently demolishing the whole city. After that, it would have destroyed the whole world if Fairy Tail hadn't come to the rescue.

As he was standing between fighting mages and fleeing citizens, he asked himself; What was he supposed to do?

He couldn't see Lucy anywhere.

If his memory served him right, he remembered fighting on top of a roof besides his team. He'd been shouting at Natsu to get his ass up already, and slay that thing. But then what?

Looking around he searched for something that led him to his favorite blonde.

His gaze shifted around until he saw a certain redhead on a rooftop. She was equipped with a bow, and a glowing arrow. Right, he remembered now.

Seconds later, he heard a desperate wailing from somewhere near. Laxus knew without a doubt it had to be her. He began to run to the source.

Rounding corners, crossing streets, evading being buried by houses that fell apart, Laxus searched for Lucy. He almost missed her as he ran by an alley. There she was, a crying mess, cradling a woman with brown hair her on her lap. Beside her was his grandfather who stood still, a frown on his face.

"Please... She will die if we use the arrow!" The Celestial mage pleaded with gramps, but while he was not happy with that decision, his mind was set. Laxus saw that it wasn't easy for the old man as well. The Slayer stepped forward, and realized that once again, none of them noticed that he was there.

"I'm sorry, my child..." Gramps tried to console her, but it didn't work and she sobbed even harder. Laxus winced, his whole body tensing up by the thought of the emotional pain Lucy must had been feeling in this moment.

"Don't be sad, Lucy. I'm fine. I have lived long enough. I just wish to be with my family again... with Momo ... and my parents." The brunette tried to explain. Her voice was weak, but she was smiling. She grabbed Lucy's arm and Lucy's tears came even harder when she closed her eyes.

"No... Please, stop it!" The blonde mage was still pleading. Meanwhile Erza, unaware of the consequences, released the arrow, letting it soar through the air.

"NOOOO!" Lucy screamed. But it didn't do anything. The arrow hit its mark dead on, and the giant bird screeched in pain. Laxus watched the scene he'd missed in his memories. He was solely focused on Lucy, and the obvious emotional pain she was in. His whole body shuddered, and a cold shiver went violently down his back. Just how much pain had she endured?

A sudden burst of fire in the sky gained their attention. Natsu pushed the arrow right through the glowing eyes, fully activating the eradication magic.

Shifting his gaze back to Lucy and the other woman, the lightning mage saw that the body of the dying brunette started to vanish. It was very clear that the real agony just started for the blonde.

As soon as no trace was left of the woman, Lucy broke down. She laid her head on the floor, sobbing loudly. She clutched her arms around her midriff as if she was trying to hold herself together. Gramps, who was still beside her, closed his eyes and let his head sink. Laxus knew that his grandfather was feeling everything too.

Laxus was desperate to change the situation. He needed to get to Lucy and pull her out of her pain. He stepped forward, but suddenly the flames around him grew. The heat was becoming unbearable. Like magically enhanced fire, the flames spread incredibly fast, and Laxus could feel the heat already melting some of the hair on his arms. He wanted to get to the blonde, to protect her from the fiery death, but the flames closed in on him and after seconds it was all he could see.

"Nooo! Lucy! Dammit, Lucy!" he shouted. Laxus ignored the pain of the burns he got, and stepped through the flames. He knew that he was in Lucy's mind somehow, and therefore was relatively sure that he couldn't get hurt, but the pain felt real.

He bit his teeth, and tried to ignore the pain. He was here to get Lucy back, and he was damned if he couldn't get through some lousy flames. Laxus smirked, this fire was nothing compared to Natsu.

Stumbling forward, while holding his arms around his head, he fought through the mass of flames. Suddenly the heat stopped, and he took his arms down.

Surprised, his eyes widened. The city he was standing in seconds ago vanished, and he was standing in a large corridor instead.

The marble floor and the expensive decoration led him to believe that he was in a mansion or palace, but the scene made him immediately tense up. There were many holes and cracks in the floor as well as in the walls, like a huge fight has taken place. Turning around, he saw what most likely caused this huge mess; Natsu, and he wasn't alone. Wendy, Happy, Charle. Pantherlilly and Loke were besides him. His attention was focused on the two Lucy's standing before him. It should have been impossible. One was clothed like how he saw her sometimes in the guild, but the other one had a large black cloak on. That was unusual for the color loving blonde.

Then he saw another person, and his gut was uneasy immediately. It was Future Rogue. That asshole who caused the whole mess with the dragons, and nearly destroyed the whole world. Why was he here? Laxus had never heard what exactly happened in the castle as Natsu, Wendy, Mirajane, Happy, Charle and Pantherlilly went to save Lucy. Neither had he known that apparently Future Rogue wasn't the only one passing through the time portal. He figured that this was the reason there were currently two Lucy's. Her future version must have traveled back also. Why?

"No way! How can you be Rogue?" Natsu asked, puzzled as the older version of the Shadow Dragon Slayer walked up to them.

"You came from the future too?" The present Lucy asked, slightly scared.

"I'm not the only one then." Future Lucy mused, her voice wary, and confirmed Laxus' theory. Lucy had traveled back in time. Since Laxus knew the story of how everyone thought that ten thousand dragons would attack Crocus and Fiore, it would match that she came back to warn everyone. Why was the older version of Rogue here then? Wouldn't, since Lucy already traveled back and changed the future, his timeline be alright again? Damn time lines. This was way too confusing. So, he stood there and listened to the scene he hadn't been there for.

"Why are you here?" Happy asked the man he found slightly terrifying.

"All I want, is to use the Eclipse," Future Rogue said.

After Lucy asked what it would do, he explained how it can be used in two ways. The first was time travel. The second was to use it as a cannon, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat dragons.

"We can actually win?" Future Lucy asked, unbelieving. Natsu, Wendy and Happy smiled and laughed about the fact, but Laxus wasn't sure. His gut told him that it wouldn't be that simple.

Future Rogue sighed and told them of his timeline, where the dragons destroyed the whole world as well as killed off most of humanity. For a short moment, Laxus could see that this man was truly sad about that. He could somehow understand him. Seven years of Apocalypse, and the constant struggle to survive in such a world... The blonde man could see where the bitterness of Future Rogue came from. While he listened, he saw how the Future Lucy started to shake. Her future must have been like this.

"This canon is humanity's last chance. We stop them now, or die." Rogue finished.

"Then it should be easy, right? We open the gate, and blast it at them! Let's get to it!" Natsu said, meanwhile also uneasy with the future which loomed ahead of them.

"Seven years in my past, something happened. Someone prevented Eclipse 2 from activating." The older Shadow Slayer told them. Laxus eyes widened at that. This was not how the whole mess started.

"I came back in time, to eradicate the life of the person who caused the deaths of all those people," Future Rogue said darkly.

"How barbaric! We can just talk to this person!" Charle complained about this plan.

"Yes, there's no need for bloodshed!" Lilly continued.

"Talking will do nothing. It's destiny that this person will close the gate. It's set in stone. This is the only way." Future Rogue was determined.

"Then who is this person?" Natsu asked him confused.

Rogue remained silent for a moment. Laxus saw the tension in his stance, and would he have blinked, he would've missed it. Rogue suddenly struck, and unleashed a Shadow blade. It was aimed at a specific person.

"It's you. LUCY HEARTFILLIA!" He shouted. Laxus' reflex was to jump, or fight, to just do anything, but his body remained still. He saw how Natsu tried to grab the blade, but his hand went through the shadows. Wendy and Loke were too far away, and Lucy was frozen in fear. Laxus could only watch. As he was sure the blade would strike her, a body suddenly moved in front of her, literally taking the bullet for her. He could hear the slashing sound as it cut deep into her flesh, and see the blood flying around. Both memories were branded into his mind forever.

He was shocked as he saw who that person was; Future Lucy.

With a thud, she landed on the ground, slithering a few inches. Her eyes were closed.

"NOOOO!" Someone screamed. He saw how Lucy kneeled over her, and Happy running and stopping in front of her. Future Lucy herself had a pained expression, but her eyes opened.

"Hang on!" The present blonde shouted at her other self, already crying. The others remained still, too shocked to move or say anything, just like him.

"I didn't do it. I didn't close the gate… I would never do that." The injured female coughed up, her life force already leaking from her.

"I know you didn't! I wouldn't either, I promise! ...But why? Why didn't you protect yourself?!" She asked nearly shouting, while the tear drops ran down her cheeks. Laxus was still speechless. His mind couldn't process what was happening in front of him.

"You're my past. If you were to die, then I would die too. In a way, dying is the only way I can live... It's so strange..." Future Lucy began to smile ruefully, "I never thought I would die in my own arms, you know? It's kind of comforting..." She said, and Laxus' mind finally realized what his eyes were seeing. Future Lucy was dying. This realization had a heavy weight dropping onto his heart, and deep sadness began to spread in him.

"No! Don't talk like that! You're going to make it!" The crying blonde said in denial. She looked up to Wendy, who was crying too, shaking her head. Carla talked for her.

"I'm afraid the wounds are too severe, there's nothing we can do…" she explained, never making eye contact.

"Don't cry, it's ok. I thought that I would never get to see my friends again. But I did, one last time. That's enough to make up for the hell I've been through." The dying woman on the floor tried to console her friends. Laxus remembered what they'd told him. In her future, nobody survived. The way Future Lucy was talking… Did that mean that she saw her friends, her comrades, her family, die? The man had to gulp. That was the worst torture he could imagine. As he thought about it, he didn't realize that he too, shed tears.

"No, Lucy, hang in there. We need you!" Happy said in a childish manner, not realizing the reality yet.

"I'm not the Lucy you know. I'm from a different time, a whole other world. There's no reason for you to cry." she said, touching Happy cheek, trying to comfort him. The big eyes of the cat started to fill with tears.

"The Lucy of your time is still alive. She will be with you and your friends… So you don't have to be sad." Future Lucy continued to console him.

"BUT WE ARE SAD!" He suddenly began to shout. "WE DON'T CARE FROM WHAT WORLD YOU COME FROM! BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS YOU'RE STILL OUR LUCY! YOU'RE OUR FRIEND, AND WE LOVE YOU! WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU! OF COURSE WE'RE SAD! WHY WOULDN'T WE BE?!" he shouted at her, and Laxus clenched his teeth and let his tears run freely as he heard Happy's words. The cat was right. It didn't matter from which timeline, or world she was coming from. Lucy was Lucy, and she was dying right now.

"Hey, can you let me see your guild mark?" The woman asked her present self. Lucy held her shaking hand over her, so she could see the pink mark on the top of her right hand. Gently the dying woman caressed it with her left hand... Laxus began to wonder why she wanted to see it as he realized about the same time as the present Lucy.

"Where's yours? What happened?!" She asked her with eyes wide in shock. The silence she got as answer was enough confirmation. The Future Lucy lost her right arm. Gone with it was the mark that bound her to her family. By now, Laxus was shaking. Whether it was in fury, deep sadness or frustration, he didn't know. It was all clashing together unbearably in his heart.

"I just wish, I could have...gone on more adventure...Please, protect the future." She exhaled her last words, before she slumped down, unmoving. By now, everyone was crying.

The blonde dragon slayer wailed in despair. He hadn't known that Lucy had died that day. He hadn't known!

Laxus slumped down on his knees. He clenched his fist, and smacked it hardly on the ground. He couldn't believe that something like this happened! Why had this happen?!

His subconscious reminded him about his task here, but he was still unable to deal with the fact that Lucy died. It didn't matter to him which one. Back then, he didn't have his mission to protect her yet, but he still cared about her! How was he not there to prevent this? Was he even capable of doing so? Ever since he'd gotten the mission he'd already screwed up, and she'd gotten hurt on his watch. Laxus covered his face with his hands, drawing in his self-loathing and guilt.

"It's not your fault." He suddenly heard her beautiful and calm voice, while a hand touched his shoulder. Surprised, he turned around and saw the very woman he was thinking about. She had a smile on her face, but that was not the most important fact. It was Future Lucy! The mind of the blonde Dragon Slayer scrambled over this, and he couldn't get what happened here. How is she alive?!

"I see your confusion. I'm still dead, but I'm also a part of Lucy. I'm her Empathy." She explained this calmly to him. Laxus finally got it, but he broke the eye contact none the less. He was not worthy to even look at her.

"Don't blame yourself," She said, taking her hand from his shoulder. She put it to his cheek, pushing his face upwards, so he had to look at her. Laxus saw the warmth and sadness at the same time in her eyes.

"It was destiny that my version of Lucy died. If it hadn't happened here, then it would have happened in my original timeline. You, as well as the others, couldn't have prevented it," She told him. Laxus frowned. Why did Lucy have to die?

"The universe is indeed strange and mysterious, but maybe it had to happen for certain reasons... One of them… I'm here now to help you," She mused mysteriously. Laxus looked at her puzzled as he realized something.

"Why are you the one comforting me? Shouldn't I be the one to put you back together, to get Lucy's soul whole again?" He asked her. Her smile grew a little.

"You see, I'm the part of her soul who was damaged the least. This wound on her soul, on me you just saw, is almost healed. She was almost through it, and would have, if new damages hadn't gotten in the way. This is the worst damage her soul has taken." Her smile faltered.

"What are you talking about?" He asked her. The blonde man tried to remember of what he knew about Lucy's timeline. After they won the Games, was anything important? Then he remembered. The disbanding of Fairy Tail. He looked up to the part of the blonde's soul.

"Then I have to get to the shard of her soul who deals with solitude?" He asked, trying to get the solution. She just shook her head.

"No. Just let me take you to her, and you'll see." She offered her hand. He was confused. What else it could be? He took the hand anyways, and stood up. Lucy took his other hand, and closed her eyes in concentration. Their surroundings shifted like he was looking out of the window of a train, just faster. The sky changed from daylight to night, to the orange of the morning and to the darkness of the twilight. The ground changed with it. From grass, to stone, to sand, to sea.

Then the shifting stopped, and he immediately knew where he was. The sky had the color of an agitating mix between purple and gray, but he only saw it through a window. The window of a flying castle, or Cube.

Tartaros. Laxus flinched. Everybody literally went through hell here. Now he wondered what kind of hell Lucy had gone through.

"This way." The part of the blonde's soul guided him. They went through long corridors, and as he ran he noticed that he saw none of his friends. What he saw was the strange dark red mass that covered the ground and the walls like some kind of slime exploded there. Then he heard a sudden noise, like something exploded.

Lucy was already guiding him towards it, and suddenly they both were floating.

"What the fuck?!" Laxus exclaimed, surprised. Lucy turned around to him.

"This is necessary, in order to watch what happened," She said. Suddenly they fly towards a hole in the ground. Laxus could hear water flowing, like the river and as they went through the rift in the ground he saw actual water flowing. Then he saw a figure… Lucy! ... Surfing on the stream? Besides her was a weird girl with bunny ears also surfing on a wood piece.

"Gate of the Maiden, I open thee! Virgo!" She summoned her pink haired Maid. Virgo poofed into the scene, already surfing. The spirit went to the weird girl and fought her. Meanwhile, Lucy's board clashed against a rock and she flew on her back, but fortunately was still on the board.

Then Virgo shouted towards her.

"Princess, something is coming!" Laxus could see through the water. A big shadow was moving fast towards Lucy, as it jumped above it. A demon from the Nine Gates! Laxus was nervous, but Lucy had already acted.

"Gate of the Lion, I open thee! Loke!" As soon as she finished with his name the Celestial Spirit appeared, blocking the incoming attack with his Regulus Punch. Laxus let out a sigh in relief.

He watched as both spirits fought against their opponent. As it did go on for a few minutes, Laxus noticed how Lucy began to pant. Of course! Keeping two Celestial Spirits in this world, especially strong ones like Loke and Virgo, drained her magic rather fast. It seemed both spirits noticed that, and they went even harder at their fights, trying to protect their master and friend.

Then the worst happened. Another Demon of the Gates appeared. "I found you!" He exclaimed, sneering at her.

Lucy saw him, and frowned. She couldn't summon another spirit. She took out her whip. Laxus was nervous again. While he had no doubt the blonde hat wicked skill and aim with the whip, he wasn't sure it was enough to beat this demon.

Not admitting defeat, she struck him anyway. Meanwhile, Laxus was wondering where all the others were when it dawned on him. They were all stuck in that red mass! Lucy was the only one left!

The whip wrapped itself around the wrist of that wolf like demon, but he only smirked. "You haven't forgotten about my curse, have you?" He asked.

Explosion after explosion went down the length of the whip towards Lucy, who cried out in pain as it reached her hand. She flew off the board as her Spirits called her name, submerging under water. She got up again, and gripped the wood piece in determination.

"What happened to my friends?!" She asked the demons angrily, but the demon said nothing. Instead he threw his explosions her way, hitting her directly. Lucy screamed out in pain. Again, and again he unleashed his explosions. Laxus was about to interfere, but his companion stopped him.

"It's no use. It's a vision she wants you to see. It is Lucy's past. You cannot change it." She explained, her expression sad. Laxus clenched his teeth. Not again! How often does he have to watch her get hurt?!

The fish like demon warned the other one to kill Lucy already, but he only replied that he had to let out his frustration by tormenting her. Laxus' anger rose. Another explosion and Lucy went under water, but the demon didn't stop her and threw his explosion, hitting her underwater.

She rose out of it, screaming, "I won't!" Laxus wondered what she wouldn't do.

Lucy lifted her arm, holding a golden key.

"...Not until I've saved everyone!" she screamed. The key began to glow. Laxus' eyes widened. She would open another gate, right? Her body wouldn't be able to take it!

Her spirits thought the same and shouted at her to stop, but the stubborn blonde went on with her summoning.

"Gate of the Water Bearer, I open thee! Aquarius!" Lucy screamed, her eyes burning with determination. After a few seconds, she slumped down on her knees, exhausted, but her casting was done. Behind her, with a great wave, the blue haired mermaid appeared.

"Idiot," Aquarius said. The mermaid gripped Lucy's shoulder. The blonde smiled as her spirit appeared. Letting go of Lucy's shoulder, The Water Bearer went down to business. She unleashed a huge wave out of her urn and struck down Jackal, and the annoying girl. Her spirits were still worried though, and shouted at her that it was enough. They wanted her to send one of them back.

Laxus' senses caught something moving, and in the water, he saw the big fish guy moving effortlessly underwater. It was like Aquarius' attack was nothing.

He sprang forward, and sliced with the blades on his arms through Aquarius' shoulder. She screamed out in pain and the water flow stopped. Virgo and Loke turned towards her, shocked, and Jackal went between them and simultaneously blew both Spirits up.

"With one attack?! No! Lucy!" Loke said before he completely vanished. Lucy shouted in agony, but her body went limp and she slumped down. This was the consequence of her magic overuse. Laxus was trembling.

Since the water was gone, Jackal and the girl stepped towards her, already sneering. They talked about how pathetic she was. This was bad, Laxus thought. She was in an absolute helpless situation.

Jackal let his curse loose, and set an explosion off on her leg. Lucy screamed before she covered her mouth. Her body shook in pain, her eyes tearing up, and Laxus could still hear her whimpering through her hands.

Torafuzar and Jackal went on arguing about how to proceed with Lucy, the bigger demon eventually left annoyed.

Grinning like a maniac, the demon with ears and a tail turned to Lucy again. After the girl babbled something about exploding Lucy's breast, he let her face explode, killing her instantly. This action showed how cruel those creatures were exactly.

He was about to let loose another explosion, but he was swept back as Aquarius suddenly stood between him and Lucy. The Water Bearer looked like she was in huge pain, and close to her end. This, she also told Lucy. She could only hold the demon at bay for a short time, and the other Celestial Spirits could only do so much. The Demon gates were too strong for the Spirits to defeat them.

"But we still have a chance of winning," Aquarius said to her. At this, Lucy and Laxus were surprised and both listened.

"Listen, if you can open three gates at once, I'm sure you can do this. Summon the Celestial Spirit King," Aquarius explained to her. The eyes of the blondes went wide. Summoning the king of the Celestial World? Laxus had only read about him, but his knowledge was that he was immensely strong.

"But I don't have his key…" Lucy's expression went crestfallen.

"There's nothing "physical" to summon him. Only a certain special key can open his gate; summoning with a price. By breaking one of the gold keys, you can open the gate of the king once."

Lucy's face went pale. Unbelieving, she repeated the bluenette's word to herself quietly. Aquarius used her silence to continue to explain. "It won't just work with any key. If there isn't strong mutual trust between the owner and the spirit, the gate won't open."

Finally realizing what that would mean exactly, Lucy began to shout. "I can't do something like that! No! You're all important, I don't want to lose any of-"

Aquarius interrupted her. "Break my key," She said with a slight, but determined smile. Lucy and the lighting slayer were both speechless. He knew how much the Spirits meant to Lucy. They were her family, and she treated them that way. To sacrifice one… It would break her. And suddenly Laxus knew what would happen, and why he was watching. He clenched his teeth even harder, and balled his fist until his nails broke his skin.

"I'm not sure about trust, but we've been together for a long time, it will work. What are you saying? It's to save your friends." The mermaid wouldn't take no for an answer.

"You're one of my friends, too! I can't sacrifice someone to save the others! There must be another way! I'm not giving up!" She screamed stubbornly.

"I wouldn't suggest it, if there was another way." Aquarius replied calmly.

"No...NO!" Lucy shook her head furiously, very childlike. Laxus could feel his heart breaking.

"Lucy, there's no time... I won't die if you break my key. We just won't be able to meet again." She tried arguing, and Lucy still denied, but by now her head hung low and tears were running down her cheeks. It seemed she realized that this was the only way to save everyone.

"I'm actually looking forward to it," The spirit said. She explained how Lucy's mother was her master before she was passed down to her. She never liked Lucy. She was crying too often, acting like a brat, and was not nearly as graceful as her mother.

"Actually, I've hated you the whole time." She ends her rumble, but Laxus could her that this statement was not entirely true.

"I don't care if you hate me! I love you... You were my first friend...My..." By now, the blonde was heavily crying with her hands covering her face. It was nearly unbearable for Laxus to watch.

Aquarius saw that Jackal came nearer and she pressured Lucy by screaming at her to save her friends, because she was the only one left

"DO IT, LUCY!" She ended her rant. The blonde took out her key and straightened her arm, still crying. Laxus could see how Aquarius' hand gripped her own chest, right above her heart. He wasn't fooled by the act. The mermaid liked Lucy. She was her first spirit, and her only friend in her childhood. She was the only one Lucy had after her mother died.

"Open... Gate of the...Spirit King!" Lucy summoned crying openly. Laxus looked at Aquarius and he saw the tears the mermaid had in her eyes, as well as the gratitude that shone in them. The water vanished, as well as the Spirit. For a few second's it was silent and then suddenly the whole building shook, crashing to the ground.

But that didn't matter to Lucy. She was laying down, desperately clutching the broken key, and falling apart.

"I think that's enough." Laxus was startled as the other Lucy besides him suddenly spoke up.

"Come, we're reaching the end." She took his hand, and flew him out of the building.

They flew towards the sky, and into the endless darkness. Laxus was preoccupied with what he just saw. Lucy had saved them all. She was the one who broke the spell that had everybody captured. She'd had to sacrifice her first, true friend in the process. Laxus could only imagine the pain she'd had to have been feeling. He was sure he couldn't have endured the pain, and not only this emotional damage. Everything she had gone through... Laxus was sure he would've broken a long time ago, if he was faced with such tragedies. He gained new admiration for the blonde female, who had a much stronger heart than anybody he knew, himself included.

They tapped deeper into the darkness, and it didn't take long before they were surrounded by it.

"Where are we?" He asked, confused. He could see nothing, as well as hear and smell. It was irritating and unsettling.

"This is the deepest part of Lucy's soul. Here is where her last soul shard has hidden herself. Find her." And with these words, she vanished. Surprised, Laxus looked around, but she didn't pop up anywhere. He sighed. Might as well finish this, he thought.

He was walking, but he could not see the floor. He searched his surroundings, but there was nothing but black. The time seemed to go on, and his frustration grew. How was he supposed to find her in this darkness? His senses didn't tell him anything, and he felt blind.

He began to run, his legs pumping harder and harder, but he got nowhere. Slowing down, he tried to get air into his lungs. Still, there was nothing.

He clenched his teeth as he sank onto his knees. Was he lost? He tried to work his magic, but the energy wouldn't surface. Magic wouldn't work here.

Then, Laxus realized he was trapped. He would never get home. His body went rigid. His mind going blank.

Was this what hopelessness felt like?

Suddenly, he heard something moving. Not his own body, but someone else's. Startled, he lifted his head to the source. There, a few feet away from him, was a blonde girl sitting on the ground. She wore a white dress. She was hugging her knees to her chest with her head on her arms. She looked so fragile and small.

It wasn't just any blonde girl. It was Lucy.

"Lucy!" Laxus exclaimed. He rushed to her, but she showed no reaction towards him. Didn't she hear him?

Laxus sank to his knees besides her. Slowly, he lifted his hands to touch her shoulder, but he stopped midair. He was afraid. Her body looked so small, so delicate, as if she would break from the slightest touch.

"Lucy?" He asked again, this time in a softer voice. Her body reacted by flinching. Slowly, she lifted her head. Laxus winced. Her eyes were the color of grey, a dull lifeless grey. They were also unfocused, as if she couldn't see, as if she was blind.

"Is someone there?" She asked timidly. She sounded as if she was unsure of herself.

"Yes, Lucy. It's me, Laxus. I'm here for you." He tried reassuring her, but she shook her head in response.

"No, nobody is there for me. I'm alone. Everybody leaves," She said. Laxus' heart broke at the utter defeat in her voice. He tried something different. Cautiously, he put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm here, Lucy. I won't go. I will never leave you." As he said this word, with the combination of the skin contact, she focused her eyes on him. Suddenly, there was a little bit brown around her iris. Hope settled into his chest.

"Everyone leaves. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters." She spoke those words, confused but convinced. Like it was a fact that she repeated over and over to herself. Laxus put his other hand on the free shoulder, and slightly shifted her towards him. She lifted her head higher. Laxus took that as a good sign.

"To me, it matters. I care about you, and I'm here to bring you back." He announced, hoping it convinced her. More brown color returned to her eyes, and the dull shine lifted itself slightly.

"It's been so long… I don't know how to feel anything, besides this darkness." She said this sadly, and suddenly tears gathered in her eyes. Laxus lifted his hands to her face, and put it on her cheeks in a comforting way, while his thumbs carefully wiped her tears away.

"I will show you how. You must remember your family, you friends, your comrades. Everybody is waiting for you. I am waiting for you. We miss the bubbly, warm, loving, and beautiful you." With his words, more color returned to her eyes.

"Really?" She asked, unsure, like it all was just a fantasy, and after she blinked he would be gone.

"Really. You've been gone too long." He assured her, slightly smiling because of the progress.

"But… If they leave again... I don't know if I can take it. I'm so weak..." She began to sob. Laxus hushed her, put his arm around her, and hugged her to his chest. The hand which remained on her cheek shifted towards the back of her head.

"Never think like that. Nobody truly leaves you. Even those who part with you remain in your heart. I will be there. I promise you here, on the spot, that I will never leave your side. I'll stay there, for as long as you'll have me." He said this into her ear. She shuddered, but nodded, her sobs ceasing.

"Laxus?" Her voice was timid in question. He let her loose, so there was some space between them, but his arms were still around her.

"Yes?" He gazed into her eyes. They were fully brown now, but her usual shine in them was still missing.

"Why would you do this? Why do you care about me?" Her sudden question left him to stuttering. After a few seconds of silence, and him thinking about what to say, he began to explain.

"You're by far the most beautiful person I have ever laid my eyes on. Not only on the outside, but on the inside. Your soul is the kindest, warmest, and most forgiving I have ever met. You brought life to more lives than you will ever know, even to mine. I would do anything to keep that light in this world, to keep you here. You're so important, not only to me, but to everybody from the guild. You had faith and hope, even in your darkest moments. To think of what you have gone through... The fact that I wasn't there to protect you from shattering still haunts me. The truth is... I love you." He finally confessed.

Her eyes went wide. Normally, he would be nervous and embarrassed. He'd opened his heart to her. He'd completely torn down his walls, and let her in. If she'd want to, she could crush him in an instant. He had never been this vulnerable before, but in this moment, it didn't matter to him. He'd fallen so deep, was so in love with this woman, that he had to show her his feelings. He would have burst otherwise.

"Laxus..." She suddenly said, her eyes again tearing up, but a smile was on her lips. Laxus' heart did summersaults in his chest. She was finally smiling. Lucy lifted her hand to his cheek, and softly stroked her thumb over it. Laxus didn't waste any more time. He slowly leaned in, carefully watching her reactions, but as she didn't move back, moved in. He was sure she wanted this too. Closing the distance, he lay his lips on hers in a soft kiss. His heart stilled for a moment before it pounded even harder. The feeling of her lips on his was mesmerizing, the taste of her incredible. He felt like he'd finally come home.

Suddenly, everything around them went white. The darkness was lifted. Startled, he broke the kiss.

"What..." He was confused by the sudden change. Lucy giggled softly. He turned back to her, only to see her body glowing and vanishing slowly into gold glitter. Panicked, he grabbed her tighter, but she shook her head.

"Everything's fine. I'm returning to my home. I'll see you on the other side," She said as her body vanished completely. He felt a pull, as if his body was moved upwards. He started to float. The white around him began to shift into a pink, and the familiar feeling of the magic of a certain pinkette assured him. He was going back to reality, to his own body. He closed his eyes.

After he felt his body no longer under the magical pull, he opened his eyes. There he was, back in his own body. He was still leaning his forehead to Lucy's. He watched, and tried to memorize every detail, as she suddenly opened her eyes. The air left his lungs as he gazed into her eyes. They shone with happiness.

Smiling a happy smile of his own, he spoke. "Welcome home, Lucy."

* * *

 **There you have it folks! I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **I made it extra long as an apology for the long wait.**

 **So let me hear what you think!**

 **And I'd also like to thank those people who wrote me, not to let this story stop. You guys were really encouraging me in a phase I definitely needed that! Next time I will thank all of you beautiful people properly!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kitty**


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